DPM adds property advice service
Diversified Portfolio Managers (DPM) has entered into an agreement with the Ark Group’s Pulse Property and Kinetic Marketing Divisions to provide a direct residential property advice service to its member advisers.
A co-operative business support service for independently-owned financial planning practices, DPM is currently rolling out the new service to its 16 small independent practice and dealer-group members in four states and territories.
The property advice service adds to DPM’s range of pre-existing member services, including an administration platform, business development support, marketing, and succession planning for financial planning businesses.
General manager David Williams said the new service would enable member planners to “access well-researched residential investment property and be shown how to incorporate that in a full financial planning service to their clients”.
Williams said small AFSL practices are “ideally suited to providing high-quality property advice on direct residential investment property to clients in a way that hasn’t been done before”.
“It’s something planners should be able to do but unfortunately the large networks won’t touch it because it’s too difficult for them to control.”
The new service is also being marketed to non-aligned independently owned AFSL holders that are potentially interested in joining DPM as members, Williams said.
DPM is currently seeking to expand its network from among 700 identified small independent practices and dealer groups throughout Australia, and is poised to expand its presence into its fifth state and territory this month.
The first stage in this campaign began with the launch in 2004 of a private label master trust and IDPS offering on the Aviva-owned Navigator platform, according to Williams.
He said the platform had been successful in “proving our business model could become fully self-funded and profitable, giving us the green light to broaden the base of members and services”.
Launched in 2003, BDM “already speaks for” more than $500 million in shareholder funds under administration, according to Williams.
Members of DPM become its shareholders, controlling the majority of the equity and retaining their individual brands, while collectively taking advantage of the economies of scale and the range of services it provides.
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