Hillross to target banks in expansion drive

By George Liondis

AMP’swholly owned external financial planning dealer group,Hillross Financial, has launched an ambitious recruitment drive in an effort to double the number of its offices to over 300 Australia-wide within three years.

Hillross managing director Jack Regan says the group will fuel the expansion drive by recruiting advisers from Australia’s major banking institutions, who are frustrated with salaried employment and want to open their own offices.

The group will offer advisers a business start up grant of up to $45,000 in an effort to entice salaried planners away from the major banks and into the Hillross network.

But Regan says salary based planners will be mostly attracted to the Hillross offer by the opportunity to own and build the capital value in their own business.

“The banks have a real issue going forward. I don’t know how they are going to be able to retain professional long-term planners who have a desire to own their own businesses,” he says.

Regan says the recruitment drive will not affect Hillross’s positioning as the premium dealer group within AMP’s network of financial advisers.

He says Hillross will only recruit CFP qualified planners who can maintain the group’s target of $25 million of funds under management per planner, and produce $6 million in new business and $200,000 in dealer cut generating earning per year.

Regan says Hillross has ruled out acquisitions in its effort to expand planner numbers.

“Hillross is not interested in pursuing an acquisition strategy, either at a dealer group or a planner level,” he says.