AAAFI moves to clear up mixed messages

Errol Rabaud

Independently-owned dealer group AAA Financial Intelligence (AAAFI) has moved to redefine itself and is operating under its own licence for the first time.

This follows a move by its parent company AAA Financial to remove it from under the licence umbrella of its sister stockbroking company AAA Shares last month.

AAAFI managing director Errol Rabaud said the move was intended to remove any confusion in the market about the role of the two companies and to facilitate the ongoing restructuring of AAFI into a “true” holistic dealer group.

“We were concerned it was sending a mixed message to the marketplace that the dealer group’s name was AAA Financial Intelligence but the licensee was stockbroker AAA Shares.

“Now, under the new arrangement, when we deliver services to planners under our own licence it is clear to them who they are dealing with.”

Rabaud said AAAFI’s focus over the next 12 months would be to put in place the infrastructure to ensure we can “evolve into a full-service financial provider”.

“We are now broadening the base of our business to bring greater services to existing markets as well as drive ourselves into new markets across the wealth management, risk and super sectors.

“This will include working closely with industry partners in respect of nurturing young guns, succession planning, modelling of product, and looking at delivering better quality products for advisers to use.”

Wealth management planners will be the focus of an ongoing recruitment drive for AAA under the new licence, according to Rabaud, although risk and super advisers will continue to be recruited.

The group had deliberately backed off from its recruitment plans to grow the group organically in order to work on the structure of the business itself, he said.

“It looks as if we will end the financial year with 175 or 180 planners, up from the current 130, but down on an earlier projection to grow planner numbers to 200 for the year.”