Westpac rolls out BT wrap to advisers
The Westpac Bank passed a major landmark in its integration of theBT Financial Grouptoday after it announced the roll out of BT’s wrap platform to its in-house financial planners.
The move marks the first major product integration between the two groups since Westpac paid $900 million to purchase BT in August last year.
At the time, Westpac’s head of wealth management, David Clarke, said incorporating BT’s wrap platform into the bank was one of the major drivers behind the purchase.
The move will see over 670 of Westpac’s financial planners adopt the BT wrap service and bring the total number of financial planning groups signed up to the platform to 31.
Announcing the step today, Clarke said it would also give the BT wrap a key edge in the “platform war”.
The US based Cerulli consulting group has previously predicted that only five platforms will be left standing in Australia by 2005 as the chase for scale and profitability amongst providers leads to increasing consolidation in the sector.
“Winning the platform war hinges on two key factors, scaleability and investment. By adopting BT’s wrap, Westpac has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the platform, a move that ensures its future growth,” Clarke says.
As of September last year, BT administered some $8 billion through its wrap service, making it the 8th largest platform provider in the country.
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