RetireInvest concludes advice proposition structure

By Craig Phillips

RetireInvest is set to deliver its new franchise agreement and all commercial arrangements to proprietors, after concluding its ongoing discussions on the matter last week with the dealer group’s adviser representation arm, the Proprietors Advisory Council (PAC).

The ING-aligned advice firm would not reveal the specific details of the new fee structure and exit arrangements at the time of going to press, and ahead of a series of meetings with proprietors to outline the offer — the first of which took place this week.

However, RetireInvest general manager George Haramis did say it had reached a broad agreement with the PAC on the issue, with conclusion of the discussions that commenced earlier this year coinciding with incumbent chair David Bleakley taking on an expanded role as executive chairman of RetireInvest.

The former Bridges FinancialServices managing director joined ING in March to take on the roles of RetireInvest board chair, Tandem Financial Services director and chair of the Investment Selection Committees for the two dealer groups.

He will now broaden his role as RetireInvest establishes its new business model, although ING Advice executive director Tony Hartley will retain responsibility for overall strategy, other ING dealer groups — Tandem and Millennium3 — along with dealer shared services and other advice subsidiaries and investments.

Haramis, who previously reported to Hartley, will now report to Bleakley, with both Hartley and Bleakley reporting through to ING chief executive Paul Bedbrook.