New Count Financial chief executive officer, David Lane, has committed the dealer group to remaining independent while outlining his strategy for recruitment and servicing members.
Lane was appointed to the role in December last year and his tenure to date has been characterised by a revamping of the business with a special focus on services to members.
He has also sought to reassure those advisers wary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) intentions that their independence would be safeguarded.
“I don’t think anyone has done a better a job than Barry Lambert in pulling together a group of like-minded accountants with a passion for financial advice,” he told Professional Planner Online as part of a regular series of interviews with dealer-group heads.
“The Count brand is going to remain and its independence is going to remain. There were a few Count members who were nervous about this at first. But it is very easy to dispel these concerns.
“It’s a free world out there. Our members chose us and they could easily choose someone else. If we don’t maintain that independence then we will have undone all of the good stuff that Barry has done over the years.”
While Lane concedes that financial reforms and the fierce recruitment battle have upped the ante for dealer groups looking to attract advisers, he is confident Count is well positioned to take advantage of the new environment.
“All advisers are free agents and we have to provide a differentiated service. We don’t want people who don’t want to be here,” he says.
“Most dealer-group heads have to worry about compliance as an issue (as a result of financial reform), but knowing the type of advisers we have and the type of relationships they have with their clients really does a lot to ease concerns.”
He also believes the imminent demise of the accountants’ exemption will create an opportunity for the business.
“It has been about to go away for a long time but I think it’s fair to assume that in the near term it will go away,” he says.
I am sure Mr Lane is a competent manager, but how he can say with a straight face that Count will be independent, I marvel at. Where is ASIC in relation to this comment? When will ASIC address the issue that has been the elephant in the room throughout the FOFA debate, namely that 85% of the advisers in this country are simply incapable of transparently addressing their clients’ best interests due to their institutional connections? They won’t of course, because they know they do not have the power to take on the big boys – what a disgrace.
How many times have we heard bank owned advisory groups beating the drum about their independence? Do we believe any of them? As Rob Ferguson says it’s up to ASIC now to ensure that organisations like Count (and the CBA’s other groups) truly meet their clients'”Best Interest” in a way that is not conflicted by their owners’ desire to increase FUM. Let’s face it, historically bank owned groups haven’t made money for their owners by providing advice. They have been a distribution force for in-house financial products. Will this situation change under FoFA? It will need ASIC to do their stuff if the future is not to prove to be same-old same-old. I’m an optimist – I am holding my breath! Go ASIC!
I hope ASIC reads this and comments on this view of independence!
It is very sad to see that companies with so little knowledge and respect for the law and who have no understanding of the meaning of the word independence are given credence on Professional Planner.
Just once I would like to see our regulator actually do something about institutionally owned dealer groups that claim independence.
What chance has the poor old consumer got in Australia?
I am tired of so-called leaders in our field getting away with this rubbish. I pay for my licence and I accept the risk. These guys hide behind the big institution’s skirts and then have the gall to pretend they are independent, all the time knowing that ASIC will do nothing.