Perpetual looks at single advice brand

PerpetualTrustees has indicated its private clients and accountant referral-based Wilson Dilworth planning businesses will soon sit under the one brand while retaining two distinct business models.

The wealth management arm of the group, which was created following the merger of Perpetual Investments and Perpetual Personal Financial Services in February, has already moved to combine the systems, compliance and training operations of the two advice groups, according to the division’s group executive Gerard Doherty.

“We have made some changes to the business in terms of creating an expanded and central paraplanning unit,” Doherty says.

However, he stresses that while Perpetual is also seeking to put in place a common layer of management overseeing both planning arms, the two business units will remain focused on distinct sectors of the market.

“They [Wilson Dilworth and Perpetual Private Clients] are two different models. What we’re not doing is merging the two. We’re going to have a business that is based on accountant referrals and we’re going to have a business that goes directly to high-net-worth clients,” he says.

“We want to integrate Wilson Dilworth more fully into our own business in terms of the dealer services we provide, along with offering a broader range of services to the accountant referrers.”

As for the private clients business, Doherty says it is to receive more support in terms of marketing, as the group seeks to attract new clients.

“It’s fair to say that we haven’t spent enough time on marketing that part of the business, so we’re going to bring some more people on board and add some additional resources to help us do more things,” he says.

Perpetual Private Clients has $2.2 billion in funds under advice, while Melbourne-based Wilson Dilworth has $1.1 billion.

In terms of sourcing new clients, Doherty says the group recognises it needs to broaden its target market for Perpetual Private Clients.

“We’d like to target a little lower down the age scale to the emerging net wealth customers — the 40 to 50 somethings who are high income earners and still doing some gearing,” he says.