Fastest growing dealer groups: ANZ racks up the numbers

Ranking fourth in theMoney ManagementFastest Growing Dealer Groups Survey, ANZ Personal Advisory Services had grown the number of planners in the group in the year ending 2002 to 316 — almost double the number operating under the ANZ banner in 1999.

Advisers with the group, which was established in 1986 and has a whopping $9.5 billion in funds under advice, are bank based, typically offering advice out of ANZ bank branches.

Unlike other large institutions, ANZ has not bought a dealership to boost adviser numbers, preferring to enter into a 50/50 joint venture withING, which involved joint product manufacture (including new master trusts) and funds management, while retaining separate dealerships.

In announcing the joint venture late last year, ANZ said it aimed to double its adviser sales force to over 600 within three years.

In-house financial planners were not to be included in the joint venture in order to avoid conflicts of interest with ING’s network of independent dealer groups. However, the bank last week announced its plan to roll out its version of ING’s OneAnswer to ANZ advisers.

At the time of the joint venture, ANZ chief executive John McFarlane said ANZ planners would remain close to the bank, where they would concentrate on improving their lead generation through the bank’s branch network.

But while the numbers look good, the group still had only 47 certified financial planners at the end of 2002.

ANZ also fared badly in the recent ACA/ASIC survey into good advice, with one of its plans ranking in the ‘very poor’ category. Paul Edwards, a spokesperson for the bank, said at the time that the survey results highlighted a need for the bank to focus on training, development and monitoring programs within the group.

ANZ’s head of distribution Dean Nalder was unavailable to comment on the growth in financial planner numbers over the four-year period at the timeMoney Managementwent to press.