Rob Coome: A bright future for BT
With Rob Coombe at the helm, BT Financial Group identified the need to expand its advice and distribution capabilities, and took the bold step of establishing a new dealer group, Magnitude, in September this year.
This represented the major development resulting from the manager’s year-long strategic review into its role in the financial advice market — known as Project Alpha.
The move was seen as an opportunity to tap into parent company Westpac’s customer base.
In addition to the establishment of Magnitude, BT instigated a complete change to the reporting structure of Westpac Financial Planning.
Prior to June, BT had limited control over its owner’s financial planning arm, only administering functions such as compliance monitoring and training.
This structure saw Westpac’s advisers reporting directly to the managers of the branches to which they were assigned.
June, however, marked a tactical rethink regarding the existing reporting framework, and the bank’s branch-based planners were made answerable to the BT hierarchy, effectively handing the group manager control of Westpac’s distribution division.
Under Coombe’s stewardship, BT also experienced a turnaround in financial fortunes in 2005, a situation that had been foreign to the organisation in the past few years.
The fund manager reported a $31 million economic profit in March of this year in stark contrast to the economic loss of $7 million posted in the previous half-year period.
Improved funds management performance also led to BT declaring an operating profit before tax of $162 million for the six months ending in March 2005, which compared favourably to the $119 million profit figure reported in the preceding six-month period.
Furthermore, the organisation’s integration with both Westpac and Sagitta resulted in cost savings that allowed it to revise the forecast synergies from the amalgamation upward to $116 million from $65 million.
In all, Coombe’s leadership has steered BT in the right direction in 2005 and fostered an optimistic outlook for the group over the coming 12 months.
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