HUB24 launches pilot business efficiency program



A pilot program to help understand the problems faced by licensees and advisers has been launched by investment platform, HUB24.
The firm said it was committed to supporting licensees and advisers through regulatory change and to better understand the business challenges for them.
In a speech at the firm’s annual general meeting issued to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), chair Bruce Higgins said: “Given growing demand for cost-effective financial advice, HUB24 has been working with a group of licensees for some time to better understand their business challenges and the data they need to run more efficient businesses and replace the manual processes that increase the cost of advice.
“HUBConnect licensee provides a range of solutions for licensees to create efficiencies and reduce manual processes by leveraging data to support business management activities like monitoring key risk indicators or remuneration.
“A pilot program is underway with four licensees and the capability will be rolled out to other licensees during FY22.”
The firm was also set to acquire Class and Higgins said he hoped this would accelerate the company’s platform strategy and a diversification of revenue.
It had seen group revenue up 34% to $110 million and platform revenue up 36% to $101 million.
Funds under administration (FUA) grew to $45.4 billion as of 30 September, 2021, while platform net flows were $3 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up from $1.3 billion a year ago.
Higgins said: “The company is proud to have delivered an extremely successful year, achieving record levels of platform net inflows and FUA growth as well as the completion of three strategic transactions and continued industry recognition as a market leader in both the platforms and managed portfolios space.
“As a result of our continued investment and the completion of strategic transactions this year, we are well placed to pursue emerging opportunities for growth, as we lead the industry in the provision of the integrated wealth platform, technology and data solutions.”
Shares in HUB24 had risen 34% since the start of the year versus returns of 10% by the ASX 200, according to data from Google Finance.
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.