AMP merger prompts AXA exodus to MLC

Since its establishment in February this year, MLC's retirement solutions team has grown to 10 people; of those, eight were recruited straight from AXA.

1. AXA executives

Since its establishment in February this year, MLC’s retirement solutions team has grown to 10 people; of those, eight were recruited straight from AXA.

The moves occurred following the completion of the AMP/AXA merger and started with the appointment of former AXA head of structured solutions Andrew Barnett.

Other moves to MLC included three North executives – Paul Stratton, Michael Tobin and Remi Bouchenez, as well as three other members of the group’s senior management – Shaune Egan, Stuart McGregor and Joachim Lumbroso.

2. Neil Younger

Although financial services executives have played musical chairs for much of the year, financial planning executive Neil Younger has notched up a rare achievement. In the last 14 months, Younger has held senior roles at three of the big four banking groups.

For most of last year, Younger was in charge of BT Financial Group’s dealer group business before moving to Commonwealth Financial Planning in October, where he was appointed new general manager.

He spent just over a year at Commonwealth FP, when it was announced that he was moving to ANZ to head up practice-based financial planning. He was welcomed to the team by his former colleague at Commonwealth Bank (CBA) Paul Barrett.

3. Paul Barrett

One of the more significant moves in the financial planning world was Paul Barrett’s move from Colonial First State (CFS) to ANZ, where he heads the group’s wealth management division. 

Barrett first moved to CFS as distribution general manager from a CBA-owned dealer group Financial Wisdom. He was later promoted to head of advice business, but made a move to ANZ Wealth earlier this year.

Following in his footsteps is Marianne Perkovic, who was quickly promoted from distribution general manager to CFS head of advice business following Barrett’s departure.

4. Grant Kennaway

Funds research and ratings houses have seen quite a bit of executive movement in the past 12 months.

Soon after Lonsec was sold to Financial Research Holdings, its then chief executive officer (CEO) Grant Kennaway announced he was leaving the company.

Only weeks after that announcement, the news got out that Kennaway had found a new home at Morningstar, where he heads fund research for the Asia Pacific region. Following his departure, Kennaway’s colleague Amanda Gillespie was promoted to chief executive officer of Lonsec.

Another significant departure within the funds research space was that of Mark Hoven, who left his position as chief executive officer of Standard & Poor’s Fund Services and is yet to announce his next move.

5. Phil Butterworth

Almost immediately after DKN was acquired by IOOF, its CEO Phil Butterworth left the group for a senior position at BT.

His departure saw three more high-level DKN executives leave the dealer group – Lonsdale CEO Mario Modica, Lonsdale executive director Kon Costas, and DKN executive director of distribution Andrew Rutter.

Butterworth, however, was not the only executive to leave a company acquired by IOOF. If we go back to 2009, former Scandia chief Andrew Black was made redundant after the company was purchased by IOOF. He has found a new gig this year as chief executive officer of a Western Australian dealer group Plan B.