Practical, flexible compliance parameters, clear segmentation and a high level of transparency will be key tenets for licensees looking to thrive in the modern advice arena according to Alan Logan, the former general manager of MLC’s Godfrey Pembroke dealer group, which is now in the hands of IOOF.
In a research paper on licensee relationships to be published under the name of his consultancy firm Marcona Partners, Logan – who ran MLC’s flagship brand between 2015 and 2020 – outlines the challenges licensees face and what it will take for them to thrive in a fractured market.
Chief among these issues – the paper outlines 10 – is the need for licensees to take a pragmatic “partnering and coaching” approach to compliance, something Logan believes advisers are placing a premium on in the post-Royal Commission era.
IOOF has fallen short of its projected financial adviser headcount by about 20 per cent, losing more than 300 advisers during the nine-month due diligence for MLC.
Whereat said the 406 authorised representatives accounted for 84% of the “targeted advisers” (around 483) with 77 advisers either moving to become self-licenced or had moved to another licensee.
“There were a number of advisers in the self-employed space and decided someone else was a better partner and we respect that decision – it’s been a long process and there have been some businesses that have made decisions as to what suits them best,” he said.
“We are fortunate and happy with advisers that chose to partner with us. For those that decided to leave us – the door is always open should they want an institutional relationship.”
Despite its lofty scale IOOF won’t be building a single proprietary technology system that does everything for advisers, and will instead retain a traditional tech stack built around the Wealth Central advice tool it purchased in September 2020.
Rumours that the group is looking to expand Wealth Central into a full-suite customer relationship tool that would supplant Iress’ Xplan are off the mark, according to head of advice Darren Whereat (pictured).
Trying to “stretch” software to do it all doesn’t work, he explains, for several reasons.
“If you try and stretch a single piece of technology too far, the first thing is the development required to take it market… the timeline is just elongated so you miss opportunities,” Whereat tells