NAB stays mum on PIS

National Australia Bank (NAB) is staying quiet on what it intends to do with the share option it holds over the parent company of one of Australia’s biggest dealer groups, Professional Investment Services (PIS).

NAB’s 20.8 per cent share option over Professional Investment Holdings (PIH) shares, one of the hangovers of its Aviva acquisition, expires on September 30, but the big banking group isn’t making public its intentions. The shares are currently held by Aviva Overseas Holdings Limited.

NAB declined to act on the option when the Aviva transaction occurred last year, and while it was still in the running for AXA Asia Pacific NAB was unlikely to have any interest in the group.

While dealer groups traditionally have been wholly institutionally owned, listed or privately held, some groups, such as Ray Miles’ recently established Fortnum Financial Group, have broken that mould. Miles handed the majority of the business to staff and member firms while selling ANZ-owned RI Advice Group a 20 per cent stake.

At the time, Miles said the deal would provide the dealer group with institutional backing without compromising its offering or adviser equity model.

PIS also has open architecture and an adviser equity model, but without institutional backing suffered a financially precarious couple of years during the crisis. The group is now intending to action a backdoor listing through a merger with insurance premium funding company Centrepoint Alliance, but that group has had financial troubles of its own.