Melbourne-based advisory firm Tailored Lifetime Solutions, formerly licensed through AMP, has become the latest to join the Count network.
The firm has five advisers who offer strategic advice on superannuation, retirement planning, aged care solutions, self-managed superannuation funds and risk insurance.
Director and financial adviser David Kelsey said the decision to switch licensee from AMP to Count was driven by positive feedback from other firms who had joined Count and the desire to provide a superior service proposition.
“The first thing that stood out to us was how Count has a laser focus on improving the provision of advice and simplifying the process with technology and innovation. That makes us more efficient and creates a better client experience in turn.
“During the due diligence period, we also spoke to a number of Count firms and heard their honest assessment of the offer, which really helped our decision-making process. That third-party validation is more powerful than anything the licensee can say about itself.”
In December, Sydney-based advice firm Critique Private Clients joined Count’s AFSL network from Insignia, and the firm also acquired numerous firms last year which moved following Count’s acquisition of Affinia from TAL.
At the start of the month, Count completed its acquisition of rival licensee Diverger to create a licensee with $30 billion in funds under advice and over 550 advisers and almost 600 accountants. These combined numbers made it Australia’s second-largest licensee behind AMP.
Diverger has since announced it has signed an exclusive partnership with fintech firm Annature to provide an e-signing solution to Diverger’s network of advisers and accountants.
It will also make use of Annature’s integration with Xplan to allow for autofilling of documents against clients in the file notes section to reduce time and errors in documentation handling. Signed documents are automatically filed back into Xplan which eliminates the need for manual uploads.
Harry Wong, senior advice technology manager, change and comms, at Diverger, said: “By removing time-consuming and error-prone manual processes for signing, advisers can spend more time in front of clients providing high-quality service. We believe Annature has the best available product to deliver a superior advice experience, and its Xplan integration is a huge competitive advantage.”
