Guardian Advice makes risk part of its business

Having completed a rebranding and a strategic repositioning, Guardian Advice enters 2012 with an ambitious plan to expand its financial adviser base over the next three years.

1. Guardian Advice

Guardian Financial Planning recently celebrated its 10th birthday, and announced a slight rebrand in an effort to reposition the business as a risk-focused boutique, changing its name to Guardian Advice.

In the past 12 months, Guardian managed to secure Commonwealth Bank’s national head of financial planning Ian Anderson, and began leveraging an in-house paraplanning team to provide free statements of advice (SOA) for risk insurance for financial advisers.

In June, the boutique joined the Association of Financial Advisers' Licensee Partnership Program in order to give it representation before the Government and regulators on policy issues and the opportunity to work with financial advisers Australia-wide.

In a growth strategy echoed by a number of other dealer groups in Money Management’s survey, Guardian Advice executive manager Simon Harris recently said that the business was hoping to expand its current financial adviser base of around 150 to 200 over the next three years.

2. ClearView

After changing its name from ComCorp Financial Advice this year, ClearView Financial Advice’s rapid growth in financial planner numbers has reflected a strong year for the dealer group.

Although it sits at 51 on the dealer group table, ClearView’s acquisition of Bupa Australia has been the driving force behind the growth of its distribution network.

The acquisition also saw ClearView report net profit after tax of $19.3 million, and increase its surplus capital above internal target requirements from $40 million to $53 million, according to the group’s end of financial year results for 2011.

As a supporter of scaled advice, ClearView managing director Simon Swanson added that the group is well-placed to deliver such financial advice going forward.

3. AMP Financial Planning

AMP Financial Planning (AMPFP) came out on top in the institutional category in the Money Management Top 100 Dealer Groups of the Year survey based on a combination of its recruitment and retention strategy, including its popular traineeship program, Horizons Academy.

In the second half of the year, AMPFP unveiled a one-stop shop financial planning centre in Parramatta to provide potential clients easy-access to financial advice – which precedes the launch of a second walk-in business in Camberwell, Melbourne.

Meanwhile, the corporate merger between AXA and AMP in March saw executive leadership at AMPFP remain unchanged, but the significant addition to the team was the appointment of CommInsure executive Todd Kardash as national sales manager.

4. Count Financial

A successful 2011 saw Count Financial post net profit after tax for the year ended June 2011 of $51.56 million, which was more than double the previous years’ results. 

Count Financial senior executive of advice Dean Borner said the solid drive by investors into services such as cashflow management and income generation has been a focus for the group in the past year, compared to the significant investments made by clients prior to the global financial crisis.

Borner added that Count has had an estate planning focus for some time, and the group has been enhancing financial adviser training to provide them with more estate planning support services.

In a significant industry acquisition, Count Financial officially agreed to a takeover bid by the Commonwealth Bank worth $373 million. 

5. Synchron

One of the more openly vocal dealer groups opposing various aspects of the FOFA bill was risk-focused financial advice licensee Synchron. 

The dealer group’s director Don Trapnell said that as of April, around 80 per cent of Synchron’s 195 authorised representatives were risk writers.

Around this time, the dealer group also launched the Synchron Mentoring Program to provide in-house support to up-and-coming financial advisers, financial planners moving into managerial positions, as well as planners retiring from the industry.

In June, the dealer group’s policy of  enhancing its technological offering saw it partner with online personal insurance portal MultiCover.