Aggregator nears financial planning milestone

“For us, 100 planners is quite a milestone because it puts us in the top 10 non-aligned dealer groups in Australia,” he told The Adviser.

“That’s a good achievement for a business in three years. If you set it up right and get the right people in and put the right distribution channel in play, the business works.”

Mr Wood said the diversification strategy has allowed brokers to offer a more complete service offering for their clients, although he added that the broking and planning businesses operate separately.

“You need to specialise in a certain area but then have access to other professionals in other disciplines to make sure your clients are getting the same level of professional service that you are providing in your own discipline,” he said.

“There is no way that someone who specialises in mortgages, especially with all the requirements and regulations that you need to be across, has got the same amount of time to devote to a discipline like planning.”

Mr Wood also moved to differentiate Astute from other mortgage groups that have recently moved into financial planning.

“I see a lot of people getting press about this now, appointing people, and expecting to just be successful,” he said.

“Let me tell you, they are in for a long, hard road. I wish them luck, we have been through the set-up and development phases and it is an exciting but difficult journey.

“Having come through that now, it places us in the ideal position to work closely with our members to help them build a strong and successful fully integrated financial services business.”

[Related: Regional brokerage consolidates under national name]