IWL buyout of Sanford mooted
The shares of financial planning technology companyIWLand online broking groupSanfordhave both been placed in a trading halt today, sparking speculation that IWL is planning to secure a majority stake in Sanford.
It is understood IWL, which increased its stake in Sanford to around 20 per cent last year, will make an announcement regarding its future with Sanford on Wednesday this week.
IWL, which owns managed fund research group Investorweb, increased its stake in Sanford from 9.5 per cent to 19.9 per cent last November in a deal that resulted in Sanford’s Virtual Broker product being rebadged as VisiBroker and tied to IWL’s VisiPlan financial planning software.
The deal also resulted in research from InvestorWeb being made available to the 1200 financial planners who are existing clients of Sanford.
However the deal was not without its controversy, with a group of Sanford shareholders mounting an unsuccessful Supreme Court action to stop IWL chief executive Otto Buttula joining the Sanford board.
The deal also put paid to IWL’s plans to merge with sharemarket information system provider Iress Market Technology, with both groups deciding to abandon the merger after IWL boosted its stake in Sanford.
Recommended for you
A former Brisbane financial adviser has been charged with 26 counts of dishonest conduct regarding a failure to disclose he would receive substantial commission payments for investments.
Inefficient data processes and systems mean advisers are spending over half of their time on product implementation and administration at the expense of clients, according to research.
With the regulator announcing its enforcement focus for 2025 last week, law firm Hall & Wilcox examines the areas which have dropped down the list in priority for the regulator.
South Australian financial advice and accounting business Perks has extended its paid parental leave program from 12 to 26 weeks, putting it on par with big four firms.
