Wealthsure accepts Bristow into fold

Perth-based dealer group Wealthsure has licensed a new planning practice established by the son of Ian Bristow, who earlier this month put Melbourne planning firm Money Matters Financial Solutions into voluntary administration.

Wealthsure director Darren Pawski told Money Management that Matthew Bristow’s new entity, Retirement Services Pty Ltd, was licensed earlier this month before Money Matters went into administration on August 9, largely stemming from the Westpoint collapse.

Bristow, who was previously employed at Money Matters, approached Wealthsure earlier this year with a proposal to join as a member, Pawski said.

“We completed our due diligence on Matthew before Money Matters went into voluntary administration, and earlier this month we authorised the new entity.

“As you can appreciate, because of the sensitivity of the application from Matthew, we did even more due diligence than is usual on an application.

“Matthew has been authorised on his own merits and was not involved in giving advice on Westpoint.

“We believe in the quality of Matthew as a qualified financial planner in his own right, and his references suggest he has the ability to grow a substantial business going forward.”

Pawski said the licensing of Matthew’s new entity was a “purely commercial decision based on a risk for ourselves as a dealer group and also the public”, and that its proximity in time to Money Matters going into administration was “purely coincidental”.

The “other option was to refuse Matthew membership”, he said, “and I think it would be grossly unfair to do this purely on the basis of a blood relationship to another individual”.

Pawski emphasised that Bristow was among 10 new planners that the 140-licensee Wealthsure group has licensed as authorised representatives in the past two months.

Bristow’s new entity is going to be “providing advice in salary packaging and fundamental financial planning advice”, he said.

He said he understood that these services would also be offered to clients of Money Matters, although “I suspect there will only be certain clients they will be able to work with”.

He also understands that the majority of these clients would be largely located within a separate salary packaging entity to what existed within Money Matters.

Pawski emphasised that Wealthsure has “never had any association with Money Matters and that Ian Bristow is not an authorised representative of Wealthsure”.

Matthew Bristow did not return calls by Money Management for comment on Wealthsure membership by the time of going to press.