MLC appoints Larsen to promote dealer services
FormerSagitta/Rothschild associate director and head of retail sales Chris Larsen has signed on withMLCin the new role of national manager for alliances.
Larsen will report through to Dale Holmes, who holds the role of adviser solutions general manager at MLC, with Holmes saying both roles are directed towards servicing boutique advisory groups which hold their own licence.
“We have identified a number of boutique relationships with MLC in the areas of practice management, back-office services, administration, platforms, and banking and insurance, and a number of other groups are looking at outsourcing those services to us,” Holmes says.
According to Holmes, Larsen will work with external advisory groups in the provision of services based on his previous experience at Rothschild with its Premium Advisers group, which also focused on external advisers.
Larsen left Rothschild in November last year when Westpac began to integrate the group with theBT Financial Group.
Holmes says the external advisers dealing with MLC want to retain their autonomy and are being encouraged to adopt what he calls the “engine room” developed by MLC.
“We are perceived as having a big internal adviser system but we also offer a large number of services externally as well and these go beyond planning.”
So far, more than 50 small practices and dealer groups have signed up for the dealer services offered by MLC, which Holmes says are designed to increase the value of the adviser’s business, improve practice management, develop staff within practices and lift overall customer value.
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