Online planning software provider picked up for $22.5 million
Online financial planning software provider Decimal will be purchased by Perth-based resource development company Aviva Corporation after the completion of a conditional agreement announced yesterday.
The purchase, which moves Decimal from privately held to publicly listed, also signals a change in business focus for Aviva, which has recently restructured its board and sold a coal project in Africa.
Decimal was founded and partly owned by former Sealcorp staffer Jan Kolbusz, who was chief operating officer for the Asgard master trust. Kolbusz will take retain his role as managing director of Decimal as well as taking a board position with Aviva.
Aviva business development manager Nathan Ainsworth said the deal, which valued Decimal at $22.5 million, would see Aviva acquire all shares currently held by Kolbusz, Decimal board chair Michael Sertorio and a number of other shareholders linked to Kolbusz and Sertorio.
Ainsworth said after the conclusion of the sale Decimal would have $13 million in cash on hand to use as part of its trial phase among financial planners and to allow for a renaming of the Aviva business and a relocation to the east coast of Australia.
At present Decimal is not in widespread use by financial planners, but a user trial is planned for the second half of this year before a wider rollout to the planning community, with expansion into the US and UK also planned.
Decimal will offer planners a cloud-based software package with compliance, customer relationship management, lead generation and statement of advice creation functionality. The software will be offered to independent planners and licensees who will be able to white label the services.
The deal is expected to be completed by 9 April, with Sertorio and Kolbusz to join the Aviva board as executive chairman and executive director respectively. One further director will also be appointed, as the current directors of Aviva are expected to resign as a result in the change of direction for the business.
Recommended for you
Digital advice tools are on the rise, but licensees will need to ensure they still meet adviser obligations or potentially risk a class action if clients lose money from a rogue algorithm.
Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth, while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
Australian investors are more confident than their APAC peers in reaching their financial goals and are targeting annual gains of more than 10 per cent, according to Fidelity International.
Zenith Investment Partners has lost its head of portfolio solutions Steven Tang after 17 years with the firm, the latest in a series of senior exits from the research house.
