HUB24 urges action on QAR as it acquires myprosperity

The Quality of Advice Review needs to be enacted “urgently” to allow the industry to rebuild, according to HUB24’s chief executive, Andrew Alcock. 

Speaking to Money Management, Alcock said HUB24 had been advocating the government for faster implementation of the review, which released its final proposals back in February. 

“We are advocating the government for change, there has been a focus on the past, but we want to use technology to be better and be faster and allow advisers to get on with looking after their clients rather than doing paperwork and meeting compliance requirements.

“[HUB24 has] a role to play in that and we are well positioned to help the industry become more efficient.”
While Michelle Levy put out her final report with the proposals in mid-February, the government and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, had been quiet on when he would complete his review of the report and begin the path of legislation.

Alcock said: “It is taking the government longer to look at it than the actual review took; it needs to be done urgently, and it’s critical we enact some easy steps that can be implemented quickly. 

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“We need to get on with the reform or else we are not achieving what we set out to do, and advice is becoming less relevant and only for the high-net-worths.”

His message was supported by the Joint Association Working Group (JAWG) of financial services associations, which issued an open letter earlier this year with a similar stance. 

The letter sent in April stated: “In acknowledging the government’s commitment to resolving this issue for the good of all consumers, the JAWG supports the review recommendations being implemented in stages rather than as a holistic package. This will ensure immediate gains can be made, including substantially reducing the cost of accessing financial advice.

“These short-term reforms have the collective potential to reduce the cost of advice, making advice more scalable and more accessible.”

Myprosperity acquisition
The firm had also acquired client portal provider myprosperity and expected the deal would deliver long-term shareholder value by supporting its growth trajectory and strengthening its competitive advantage to capture market share and create new growth opportunities. 

Myprosperity was a provider of client portals for financial advisers and accountants that had been launched 11 years ago and was used by around 400 accountants and advisers for 60,000 clients.

 and it was initially planned to integrate myprosperity with HUB24’s custodial and non-custodial platforms. This would be followed by the development of a single client portal for the entire HUB24 group portfolio of products and services. 

This included the HUB24 platform, HUBConnect, the Xplore platform and cloud-based wealth accounting firm Class.

“Client portals with enhanced capability like myprosperity are transforming client engagement by delivering a holistic view of household wealth, providing secure digital engagement and facilitating collaboration between clients and the financial professionals they have a relationship with,” HUB24 said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). 

Myprosperity was expected to operate as a separate business unit within the HUB24 group and retain its branding and leadership team, led by founder and executive director Peter McCarthy.

The acquisition was expected to be completed by the end of June 2023 and the transaction costs incurred in FY23 were expected to be circa $400,000.