MLC's adviser expansion drive
|
National Australia Bank (NAB) owned dealer group MLC is building a team of 10 staff to recruit new advisers to its network.
MLC general manager, business development, Peter Greenaway, said the group has currently recruited five business growth managers (BGMs) across the east coast, with the intention of recruiting a further five.
The group said the employees are “completely independent” of the group’s business development managers, who deal with advisers regarding MLC products and services.
Greenaway said there are “Chinese walls between the two teams and there will be no cross referrals”.
“While the BDMs support advisers using MLC’s products and services, the BGMs will promote the benefits of joining an MLC dealer group,” Greenaway said.
MLC chief executive Steve Tucker has made it clear the result of current industry reviews, in particular the Cooper Review of superannuation, will result in advantages for scaled players in the Australian market.
NAB is looking to substantially increase its adviser footprint through an acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific, which would see NAB’s network of aligned advisers double. NAB estimates that if the deal is successful, its advisory force would account for 20 per cent of all Australian financial planners — with the second-largest group sitting under rival bidder AMP at 10 per cent.
NAB currently has more than 1,300 advisers across its NAB Financial Planning, GWM Adviser Services, Godfrey Pembroke and Apogee dealer groups.
Greenaway said the transition to fee-for-service, as encouraged by both industry bodies and the recent parliamentary joint committee, would present challenges for some advisory practices. He said as the industry moves away from commissions it would be logical for advisers to want to join a dealer group that is experienced in transitioning its advisers to a fee-for-service model.
Recommended for you
As the first quarter of 2024 comes to a close, Money Management looks back on the corporate regulator’s bans and AFSL cancellations in the financial advice sector.
Insignia Financial is holding ‘relatively steady’ onto its rank as Australia’s second-largest financial advice licensee after the Godfrey Pembroke exit but Count is hot on its heels.
Liberal senator Slade Brockman has said the government needs to have a “cold hard look” at the level of regulation in the financial advice space and the costs of running a business.
FAAA chief executive, Sarah Abood, has warned changes in the first tranche of the QAR legislation around advice fees documentation could create more work for advisers rather than less.