Slimmed down Perpetual targets wealthy professionals
The announcement of further cost reduction strategies by Perpetual chief executive Geoff Lloyd signals a renewed focus on funds securitisation and wealth management for the company.
The sale of Perpetual Lenders Mortgage Services (PLMS) reflects Lloyd's desire to move out of the substantial administration offering Perpetual has built up over the last three to five years.
"I want to exit or shut down those administration services. We previously sold a registry business, and we're proceeding to sell PLMS," Lloyd said.
"It's not reflective of market conditions, it's reflective of who we want to be," he said.
Part of Perpetual's new direction is a focus on financial advice through the Perpetual Private arm, he said.
Perpetual Private's offering is segmented to target three groups of clients: business owners, the 'established wealthy', and professionals.
The company's segmented approach is supported by the financial planning firm Fordham (which services small business owners) and Grosvenor (which services medical, legal and dental professionals). Both practices were purchased in late 2009.
"We've been able to increase our advice fees by 36 per cent," said Lloyd.
"We're charging clients more for plans. There's never been a better time to provide high quality advice.
"We've broadened our offer … We've doubled our plan fee and we've written twice the amount of plans in the last 12 months," he said.
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