Two listed advice licensees have seen significant year-on-year improvement in their share price with only one firm reporting a loss since the start of the year.
Looking at share price performance from 1 January to 15 December, Insignia, Fiducian, WT Financial, Count and Centrepoint Alliance have all reported positive growth for their shareholders.
The only licensee to report a loss for the period was Sequoia which was hurt by its link to Interprac. It was announced in November that ASIC has commenced civil proceedings against Sequoia subsidiary Interprac for critical oversight and compliance failures regarding the Shield Master Fund but Sequoia has retaliated and said it intends to “defend the allegations vigorously”.
This year’s figures are consistent with performance at this time last year with the same five players all reporting positive gains in 2024, however some licensees are faring better this year so far.
For example, the top-performing licensee – WT Financial – has returned 44 per cent compared to just 10 per cent last year, representing a rise of more than 400 per cent while Count has risen a similar amount from 10 per cent to 40 per cent.
For comparison, the ASX 200 has returned 5.3 per cent from 1 January-15 December.
However, not all licensees reported year-on-year growth with Fiducian falling slightly from 39 per cent to 36 per cent and Insignia falling from 53 per cent to 29 per cent.
For Sequoia, the only licensee to report a loss, this was a loss of 29 per cent, slightly better than losses of 32 per cent last year.
| Licensee | Share price growth YTD |
| WT Financial | 44% |
| Count | 40% |
| Fiducian | 34% |
| Insignia | 29% |
| Centrepoint Alliance | 4.4% |
| Sequoia | -29% |
Commenting on why he believes WT Financial has seen its share price perform strongly this year, managing director Keith Cullen said the firm had delivered strong financial results as well as unveiled an acquisition model with Merchant Wealth.
In its full-year results to 30 June, it reported a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $4.6 million, up from $3.9 million in the previous year, and net operating revenue of $28.4 million.
Regarding the Hubco model with Merchant, it has enacted one Hubco with Titan Financial Planning, Darwin Financial & Retirement Services, and Wealth Connect Financial Services, and a second with Select Advice Group and Newleaf Tailored Financial Solutions.
“Adviser satisfaction has reached record levels, our AI-enabled risk management framework is market-leading, and the Investco/Hubco strategy has begun to unlock significant long-term value. In short, the market is starting to appreciate how all the pieces of our strategy now fit together — and the substantial potential that still lies ahead.
“Our strategy has matured into a powerful, repeatable model. Investors can now see the foundations, the execution, and the runway of opportunity that remains.”
For Count, its FY25 results showed revenue rose by 28 per cent to $143.6 million, up from $111.8 million in FY24, which reflected strong growth across all three of its operating segments – wealth, equity partnerships, and services. Funds under advice grew by 10 per cent to $37.8 billion and funds under management were $3.9 billion, thanks to net inflows and strong investment performance.
It also has a focus on tuck-in acquisitions where Count brings advisers into existing accountancy firms with Count subsidiary Accurium acquiring a Melbourne-based accountancy and advisory firm in October and Count Adelaide merging with financial planning and accountancy firm Johnston Grocke in April.
Accurium, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Count, has entered into a binding agreement to acquire independent boutique McGing Advisory and Actuarial.
Hugh Humphrey, chief executive of Count, said: “The key for us over the past three years has been focussed and disciplined execution against our long-term strategy.
“We are seeing a surge of interest from firms that want to partner with, or sell to an ‘Australian made, Australian owned’ business and Count is essentially the only path for investors to keep profits onshore, and participate in the financial planning and accounting profession.”
