Thanks for the memories...

Recent articles in the pages of Money Management have helped to chronicle the monumental shifts that are shaping the future of the Australian financial services industry.

Recent articles in the pages of Money Management have helped to chronicle the monumental shifts that are shaping the future of the Australian financial services industry.

As our special correspondent Tom Collins wrote in the last edition of Money Management detailing a "changing of the guard" - key events are marshalling in a new era for the industry.

Tom's wide-ranging assessment also pinpointed certain other facts that help to illustrate the ongoing development and demands of legis-lation, regulation and technology.

He even dared to rouse a few old ghosts in the form of the early pio-neers who created the platform for the vibrant industry we know to-day. And while we can forgive Tom for reflecting on his halcyon years (except that he neglected to mention the early work of Morrisons and Darlington - the launching pads of many a high profile career) it is worth asking how much things have (itals)really(end itals) changed. Or have we just completed a development cycle that will give rise to a new and more sophisticated cycle of change?

It is timely to look back over the past five years of the industry, as reported by the Money Management team.

Back in 1995, the principals of Godfrey Weston and Pembroke spent the first couple of months denying to our reporters that merger talks were on the table. By May of that year, Money Management led with the news that the two firms had consummated the deal to form Godfrey Pem-broke.

That deal was part of a wave of rationalisations and mergers that characterised the industry during 1995-97. John Blewitt's sell-off of the Le Fort (RetireInvest) business to Mercantile Mutual for $35 mil-lion being just one of a string of deals to kick start the race for distribution dominance in the late nineties.

Fast forward to June 1999, and the Godfrey Pembroke business is this week at the centre of a bidding war between Lend Lease and AMP. These closing chapters in the story of GPL should serve as a catalyst for the new financial planning entrepreneurs and a reminder that Barry Lambert's Count Group is one of the last standing "independent" dis-tribution groups heading into the year 2000.

Whether or not Barry has missed the boat, or will trump his rivals with the deal of the century, remains to be seen over the next six months. Like always, you can be assured that Barry is not resting on his laurels.

And no story about the past five years should neglect to mention BT Funds Management. The golden story of the decade, BT and other manag-ers hit their straps during a peak period of June, 1994. Fund manag-ers were experiencing peak inflows at record breaking levels, and BT - which had planted its reputation in the aftermath of the October '87 bloodbath - was leading on the back of strong support from finan-cial planners.

BT and other fund managers were leaving the banks in their wakes.

Again, fast forward to 1999 and, at the time of going to press, West-pac was all but certain to sign off on a $2 billion plus deal to buy BT. For certain key executives, particularly those who remember the early days lugging prospectuses and other paraphernalia on their ad-viser roadshows, hauling into remote whistle stops to sell the BT ideal, this particular deal will be all the more sweet.

And this week also saw a meeting of the Financial Planning Associa-tion chiefs and its dealer principals in another round of discussions aimed largely at heading off the potential for a principal-led re-volt. The tensions between the large dealer principal and practitio-ner interests within the FPA have never been adequately resolved. Privately, many dealers hold fears that a unified FPA may not stand the tests of time and growth.

Despite the best work of the FPA to resolve the issues, rumblings still exist over the future direction of the industry's peak associa-tion.

This time the issue centres on plans to de-link the CFP designation from planners who must belong to a dealer principal member. Such a plan would allow practitioners, including accountants, to take up the CFP.

Whether or not this issue opens up some old war wounds from the days following the 1996 departure of former ceo Jock Rankin remains to be seen.

For my part, this is the final edition of Money Management under my stewardship.

It has been a pleasure to report on the shifts of this vibrant industry over the past six or so very interesting years of change.