Wealth drags on BTFG results
Westpac has seen a four per cent decrease in contributions from BT Financial Group (BTFG) on the prior corresponding period, with BTFG contributing $876 million.
Chief executive, Brad Cooper, said BTFG was operating in a challenging environment, but said key performance measures were positive "despite the wealth management industry being adversely impacted by a number of headwinds".
The group reported funds under administration (FUA) was up $9 billion or seven per cent on the prior corresponding period, while funds under management (FUM) was up $2 billion, or five per cent.
Cooper said the firm was pleased with the progress it had made on its wealth platform, Panorama, with 2,764 registered advisers and over 2,000 self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) accounts.
"This financial year we have finished significant builds for our intelligent and intuitive wealth management platform BT Panorama, with all assets now complete on the Advised investment platform and delivered our advised SMSF offer which provides a full end-to-end solution for all customers including trustees, advisers, and accountants," he said.
"We are also pleased that BT's licensing solutions continued to attract high quality firms looking to run compliant businesses and remain focussed on assisting these practices drive greater efficiencies to enhance client engagement."
The results came on the heels of Westpac, which was the latest major bank to reveal disappointing numbers from its wealth management division, which recorded a seven per cent decline in statutory net profit of $7.445 billion.
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