Beancounters urged to form planning alliances
AMP's financial planning operations are looking to boost referral business coming from accountants by forming alliances with accounting groups.
AMP's financial planning operations are looking to boost referral business coming from accountants by forming alliances with accounting groups.
Pitching his case to a recent Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) luncheon, AMP Financial Services managing director Ray Green-shields argued that the best way for accountants to take an active role in the financial planning boom was to form alliances with finan-cial planning groups.
A recent survey by the ICA found that financial planning was the top issue for accountants and that accountants were keen to participate in the market.
Greenshields told accountants should take the role of general practi-tioners, combining a bit of financial planning with their tax and compliance work but refer complicated cases to the "specialist" - the financial planner.
"The whole business of being a licensed securities dealer or licensed financial intermediary under the new CLERP regime is increasingly specialised and requires detailed knowledge," he said.
"The major financial planning networks that you are competing against have substantial investments in research, marketing, and increasingly in technology. If you take AMP subsidary Hillross as an example, it has an operating expense base of $7 million."
Hillross recently unveiled a licensing and service service for ac-countants to refer clients. According to Greenshields, even referring clients to financial planners requires a securities license.
However, Greenshields said the AMP hopes accountants will take the relationship further and form alliances with financial planning groups such as Hillross.
"AMP is either in its own right through AMP Financial Planning, or through its separately branded advisory business Hillross, in a very strong position to provide support to the accounting position. We are very keen to establish those partner-ships," he said.
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