Hillross targets growth, HNWs

AMP-owned dealer group Hillross Financial Services is looking to significantly grow its business both organically and inorganically, and will continue to target high-net-worth clients, according to managing director Hugh Humphrey.

The group can achieve relatively aggressive double-digit practice growth through practice start-ups, targeted practice acquisitions and also practice onboarding, where practices join Hillross from other licensees, Humphrey said.

In the current uncertain environment there’s a lot of interest in the Hillross proposition and the group is honing its skills in terms of onboarding and making sure it can integrate businesses smoothly, he said.

“We’re seeing a lot of activity within our practices at the moment, making smaller acquisitions as planners think about their future in a post-[Future of Financial Advice] environment, and practice development,” he said.

The group will also seek to realise more value from AXA/AMP, with many advisers keen to access AXA’s North platform, with support also provided around technology and IT support, an adviser support helpdesk, administration and paraplanning – as well as help to streamline Statement of Advice production by taking out duplication and repetition, and reducing the turnaround time on some of the logistics of providing advice, he said.

Hillross will also look to help its firms drive double-digit percentage revenue growth, he said.

The group will maintain its high-net-worth (HNW) and affluent client focus, with around $3 billion invested by the top 2 per cent of Hillross clients, he said. The group also maintains the highest funds under advice (FUA) per adviser of any group in the country at just over $40 million FUA per adviser, according to Comparator, he said.

Hillross currently has around 290 authorised representatives across 115 firms at close to three advisers per firm, a sign the group has many larger and more established practices. Around half of all Hillross representatives are Certified Financial Planners (CFPs), consistent with the group’s aim to target an increase in professionalism across the industry as a whole and support the CFP designation, he said.