Fresh start for AMP advisers with Akumin rebrand
The rebranding of AMP advice division brings to an end a 176-year history for the firm in the advice space.
AMP was founded in 1849 as the Australian Mutual Provident Society (AMP), offering life insurance and savings products, and was later listed on the ASX in 1998.
It has maintained a constant presence in financial advice, but the brand was damaged in the Hayne royal commission in 2018, when the firm came under scrutiny for fees for no service. Internal documents revealed this was a deliberate policy and the firm was ordered to pay significant remediation of more than $636 million to over 340,000 affected customers for this and for consumer harm caused by non-compliant advice.
Not only this, the long-running saga around Buyer of Last Resort (BOLR) processes culminated in a $100 million settlement for members that was approved last year. This had seen AMP Financial Planning cut its BOLR terms without notice from 4x recurring revenue to a maximum of 2.5x, leaving many advisers out of pocket from what they had originally expected to receive.
With remediation paid out, the BOLR proceedings concluded and a strategic review underway, the firm set about finding a buyer for the advice division, having concluded it would take too long to return to profitability.
In its 2023 full-year results, AMP’s advice division reported an underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) loss of $47 million. However, this was an improvement from losses of $68 million in the 2022 full-year period. In the first half of 2024, advice saw a loss of $15 million compared to losses of $22 million in the previous half.
While it had enacted cost reductions and improved efficiencies and losses were reducing, AMP felt it was still unlikely to achieve break even in advice as an ASX-listed business.
Group executive of advice Matt Lawler said: “One option was to continue, but we were never going to get to breakeven under the current structure. Another was to go it alone, but we saw the benefit in combining forces to create something new and powerful that changes the landscape.”
Sale to Entireti
In August 2024, it announced Entireti would acquire the advice division – AMP Financial Planning, Charter Financial Planning, and Hillross – as well as self-licensed offering Jigsaw Advice Solutions for $10.2 million. Secondly, AZ NGA would acquire minority stakes held by AMP in 16 practices for $82.2 million.
Entireti is the parent company of Fortnum Private Wealth and Personal Financial Services (PFS) and was formed in April 2024 after the acquisition of PFS from Australian Unity.
The deal was welcomed by AMP shareholders where shares rose 13 per cent after the announcement, and they are up by 20 per cent over the past year.
Chief executive Alexis George said: “It was important in choosing these two partners that they had a strong track record, deep experience, and shared AMP’s commitment to delivering quality advice to more Australians. Advisers will benefit from the combined scale of these businesses, delivering new services and technology, with capital backing. We are committed to supporting advisers through this transition and enabling them to enhance their value proposition for clients.”
Reacting to the news at the time, Morningstar equity analyst Shaun Ler said: “[The decision] will allow AMP to extract further value from advice businesses, which might not have been possible if owned. Notably, the sale to Entireti creates a more adviser-focused entity that could return loss-making advice businesses to profitability – something AMP has been unable to do – and benefit AMP through its minority shareholding.”
The collective four brands under Entireti became temporarily known as NewCo and Lawler would become chief executive of this while another AMP colleague Keiran Mcilwain would be general manager for adviser partnerships. Neil Younger, who also sits on the board of the Financial Services Council (FSC) with George, is the group chief executive for Entireti.
In December, the deal formally completed and the newly combined Entireti now has over 1,300 financial advisers, making it the largest advice licensee in Australia. It was a substantial jump from the approximately 400 advisers previously held by Entireti prior to the deal.
New name
In March 2025, Entireti announced it would be rebranding the four AMP brands under the banner of Akumin with a green colour scheme, completely dropping the AMP name and branding. AMP Financial Planning will also be rebranded as Akumin Financial Planning.
Lawler said: “The name Akumin is inspired by the professional judgement, discernment and acumen of the experienced people across our network.
“These qualities and strengths are critically important in financial advice, but our businesses and people are also innovative and progressive, so we wanted a brand that reflected all our unique attributes and would help us stand out in a competitive market.”
The firm appointed an external creative agency to develop the brand identity, as well as collaboration with its employees and advisers involving surveys, brand workshops and one-on-one engagement. The Advisers Association, which represents AMP advisers, said its advisers had been “highly engaged” during the process.
Commenting on the new name, Colin Williams, founder and director of Wealth Data, said: “It’s an end of an era, that’s for sure.
“I believe it’s good to have a name change. It sends a signal of a new start which I think most of the associated advisers will see as a positive step, albeit with some sadness. While there has been a lot of good associated with AMP over the years, they have also been caught up in many ‘scandals’ of sorts which has been a negative for just about everyone associated with advice.
“So a fresh start will be good for all.”
Andrew Inwood, founder of CoreData, said: "Gone is the AMP legacy, blue has been traded for green, legacy for growth and the new stage has been set. All change is painful and this will be worth watching."
While the AMP name is being dropped, AMP retains a 30 per cent stake in Akumin, although this is expected to reduce over time with sales to Akumin advisers and management as the practice comes onto a stable footing.
Moving away from a sole focus on financial advice, the new firm also describes itself as a “strategic partner in your business success”.
“Akumin is more than a licensee. We are a strategic partner in your business success, and we are reimagining advice for a brighter future,” it stated.
“Our collective goal at Akumin is to deliver more advice for more Australians in every life moment, doing so through our commitment to delivering industry-leading value, and expert, personalised and innovative solutions that truly ensure you thrive.”
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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