CountPlus to gain 359 advisers from Count Financial
Almost all (99.8%) CountPlus shareholders have voted in favour to acquire Count Financial from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
In an announcement, CountPlus said it would acquire Count Financial for $2.5 million, which would provide $200 million indemnity for certain pre-acquisition advice.
Count Financial is the Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) licensee of 160 practices that comprises of 359 advisers.
The announcement also said that CBA intended to sell down its 35.9% stake in CountPlus.
CountPlus chief executive, Matthew Rowe, said: “We have long been believers that there are clear benefits in businesses that provide both accounting services, and financial advice”.
“We are encouraged by the clear support from our shareholders for this transaction and look forward to returning Count Financial to the CountPlus business,” he said.
“We will work hard to ensure that all Count Financial firms fit the CountPlus ‘family photograph’ and align with our key objective of making a decent profit, decently.”
This announcement comes at the same time as CBA’s intent to close its Financial Wisdom license in June 2020.
Recommended for you
A financial advice firm has been penalised $11 million in the Federal Court for providing ‘cookie cutter advice’ to its clients and breaching conflicted remuneration rules.
Insignia Financial has experienced total quarterly net outflows of $1.8 billion as a result of client rebalancing, while its multi-asset flows halved from the prior quarter.
Prime Financial is looking to shed its “sleeping giant” reputation with larger M&A transactions going forward, having agreed to acquire research firm Lincoln Indicators.
An affiliate of Pinnacle Investment Management has expanded its reach with a London office as the fund manager seeks to grow its overseas distribution into the UK and Europe.
