PIH restructures, flags redundancies
Professional Investment Holdings (PIH) will cut up to 10 per cent of its workforce as it restructures ahead of its proposed merger with Centrepoint Alliance.
PIH managing director Grahame Evans confirmed around 20-30 roles in the group’s 230-strong employee base would be affected by the restructure, with roles either cut or combined to create efficiencies.
A recent review had identified several areas where efficiencies could be created, Evans said, with the group now preparing to outsource some functions previously held in-house, though he would not specify which. Some administrative roles will also be reduced as the result of lower investment inflows.
As part of the restructure PIH is also seeking to separate its advice and product businesses to remove the potential for or inference of conflicts of interest. Evans said the changes would see the advice licensee, Professional Investment Services (PIS), under chief executive David Johnstone, formally separated from the products and platforms managed by the group. Evans said the investment research team that supports PIS advisers would now be separated, through different reporting lines, from the product development team. Evans said this would remove any perception that PIS products were not subject to the same scrutiny as other investment products.
Subsidiary businesses Associated Advisory Practices, formerly reporting to PIS advice manager Stephen Poole, and Australian Loan Company, formerly reporting to PIS product manager Paul Forbes, will both now report to Evans under PIH.
Evans said there had been “no sacred cows” in the company wide review, with every role, including those at executive level, assessed. Evans said the review, prompted by changed business conditions as well as PIH’s proposed merger with Centrepoint Alliance, would help prepare PIH for its entry into a listed environment. Evans said the changes were difficult in what he described as a close, family business, but were necessary to progress the company. Changes are set to be finalised by 1 October.
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