AFS practices exit to ANZ and others

Efforts by dealer group Australian Financial Services Group Limited (AFS Group) to be acquired as a single entity appear to have been thwarted with more than a dozen individual practices moving to other groups, including under the ANZ Wealth umbrella.

ANZ's managing director, Global Advice and Distribution, Paul Barrett has confirmed the migration of eight AFS Group practices to ANZ, while a number are also understood to have moved under the BT umbrella as well as to Queensland group InFocus.

Money Management understands that the moves by the individual planner groups within AFS have stymied a strategy being pursued by the AFG Group management for acquisition in a line.

AFS Group Limited chairman Barry Stephen confirmed that a number of practices had moved out, but refused to comment on what this might mean for the future of the dealer group.

Mr Stephen also declined to indicate how many practices remained within the AFS Group.

Confirming that eight AFS Group practices had moved under ANZ's umbrella, Barrett acknowledged that it reflected the fact that ANZ's Oasis platform had been white labeled as the AFS Group offering.

Planners and other key stakeholders in AFS earlier this year held a series of meetings to consider the outcome of a strategic review which canvassed a range of options including organic growth, mergers and being acquired.

At that time, most speculation centred on the possibility of BT being a major suitor, although both ANZ and IOOF were also canvassed as possibilities.

At the time of the review by Seaview Consulting, newly appointed CEO Alan Logan said there was a recognition that the dealer group had to evolve to take account of the changes impacting the industry, not the least of which was the Future of Financial Advice requirements.

"Once a range of fully costed scenarios are completed, we will speak with our advisers and key stakeholders, decide on the right direction and move quickly to implement," he said.

The strategic review with Seaview came at the same time as a number of the major institutions such as BT were ramping up promotion of their dealer group services offering, and as other dealer groups have moved to gain greater scale to deal with the new regulatory environment.

Former AFS Group chief executive Peter Daly openly canvassed the organisation's possible sale to a major institution, but the prospect lapsed more than two years ago.