Insignia-licensed advice firm joins Count’s AFSL
A Sydney-based advisory business has switched from an Insignia-owned licensee to Count’s Australian financial services licence (AFSL).
Critique Private Clients is the latest firm to join Count’s AFSL network, bringing across a team of two financial advisers – Jason Abrahams and Robert Wolski.
The advisory firm was previously licensed by Consultum Financial Advisers, an Insignia Financial-owned licensee.
Critique was established in 2004, and offers strategic financial advice tailored to the client’s individual circumstances.
Abrahams, director and adviser at Critique, explained the licensee move was based on the support on offer from Count.
“We went through the evolution of advice within aligned channels and came to a point where we simply weren’t able to dedicate enough of our time to our clients’ needs – so that was a big motivation to join Count,” he said.
“More immediately though, and most striking to us, was the refreshing perspective and collaborative culture Count has, which we witnessed through many meetings with different members of the team. These interactions reminded us why we wanted to be advisers in the first place.”
Andrew Kennedy, chief advice officer at Count, welcomed the advice business to its AFSL network and highlighted their strong capabilities.
“Jason and Robert Wolski are outstanding advisers who bring a combined 50 years’ experience and deep strategic expertise to our network. More importantly, they are a strong cultural fit with our community, and we’re excited about working together to support their clients,” he commented.
The announcement follows one in October from Melbourne-based advisory business Vista Financial Group switching to Count’s licence.
Earlier that month, Tribel Advisory was the first practice to move from Affinia’s AFSL to Count’s licence after Count acquired the firm from TAL.
The acquisition saw around 100 advisers join its national community at the time, bringing the combined business to a total of 400 advisers and $17 billion in client funds under administration, representing 3,500 clients.
As of 14 December 2023, research firm Wealth Data revealed that Count sits in eighth place with 372 advisers in the top 10 advice licensees by number of advisers.
AMP leapfrogged Insignia as the largest licensee with 871 advisers now, while Insignia has 785. This was due to Insignia’s sale of Millenium3 to WT Financial, which now sits in third place with 561 advisers.
AUTHOR
Jasmine Siljic
Recommended for you
The FSCP has announced its latest verdict, suspending an adviser’s registration for failing to comply with his obligations when providing advice to three clients.
Having sold Madison to Infocus earlier this year, Clime has now set up a new financial advice licensee with eight advisers.
With licensees such as Insignia looking to AI for advice efficiencies, they are being urged to write clear AI policies as soon as possible to prevent a “Wild West” of providers being used by their practices.
Iress has revealed the number of clients per adviser that top advice firms serve, as well as how many client meetings they conduct each week.
