How will advice divestment affect AMP North?
With the exit of over 1,000 advisers, questions have been asked as to how this will affect assets on the North platform.
Last week, it was announced that AMP would sell off its licensee and self-licensed business Jigsaw to Entireti for $10.2 million. Entireti is the parent company of Fortnum Private Wealth and Personal Financial Services (PFS), which was formed in April 2024 following the acquisition of PFS by Fortnum in November 2023.
This will be achieved via Entireti establishing a joint venture called NewCo, to be led by AMP advice executive Matt Lawler, and AMP will retain a 30 per cent stake in this joint venture.
Furthering its exit from advice, it also sold its minority stakes in 16 advice practices to AZ NGA for a significantly higher sum of $82.2 million.
Speaking on a results webinar, AMP chief executive Alexis George was asked whether Entireti and AZ NGA had been able to make any guarantee regarding whether advisers would retain their assets on the platform.
George said the firm had enacted a rebate program in the hope of retaining advisers.
“There is no guarantee, that would not be possible in today’s world,” she said.
“Matt Lawler will be the CEO of the new entity to provide continuity, and he and I have been working really hard with the practices over the last year. We’ve put in place some rebates to make sure the transaction is smooth and easy.
“Those rebates will apply for the first and second year of the fees they’ve paid for the licensee and will be rebated at the end of the two years, either via cash or equity.
“We have done a lot of hard work to make the transaction as easy as possible for advisers, making sure they are involved in the decision and that we continue to invest in North.”
In its first-half results, the firm said net profits after tax (NPAT) on its platform division was $54 million, up 22.7 per cent from the first half of 2023 NPAT of $44 million, thanks to stronger market conditions and cost discipline. This cost discipline helped offset ongoing investments made in North technology and distribution capabilities.
Closing assets under management grew 5.1 per cent to $74.7 billion driven by positive net cash flow of $1.2 billion and market movement. The net cash flow was up 56.5 per cent, partly driven by continued managed portfolio growth, which reached $15.9 billion, and inflows from independent financial advisers.
IFA inflows into North represented 35 per cent of total inflows, an increase of 30 per cent from $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion.
Earlier this year, the platform added six new managed portfolios to its investment menu and partnered with BlackRock and Lonsec to expand its suite of managed portfolio solutions. Advisers are able to monitor their portfolios’ holdings, performance, access trade notices and market commentaries which can be white-labelled for their client base.
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Laura Dew
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George said the firm had enacted a rebate program in the hope of retaining advisers.
“Those rebates will apply for the first and second year of the fees they’ve paid for the licensee and will be rebated at the end of the two years, either via cash or equity.
A failed licensee with a substandard platform is paying advisers to keep clients on the platform whilst stating that they don't believe in vertical integration. The only thing making Alexis George appear competent is her predecessors.