Peter Daly heads down Yellow Brick Road

Peter Daly has been appointed to head a Yellow Brick Road recruitment campaign less than a month after his sudden departure from Australian Financial Services (AFS) Group.

The listed wealth management company has ambitious plans to expand its financial planning business and market itself as an alternative to institutionally controlled dealer groups.

While Daly will not be given a specific target to reach by a particular time, Yellow Brick Road CEO Matt Lawler told PPO the demand for a full financial planning service is being driven by the company’s branches.

The recruitment process may well include practices under the AFS Group banner although Lawler would not address this directly, saying only that Daly will be “talking to a lot of people from a lot of organisations”.

In particular, Yellow Brick Road will be targeting financial planning practices looking to move from institutional entities to “an independent advice provider”.

“Approximately 85 per cent of Australian financial planners are owned or controlled by the four major banks and AMP, so we’re looking at yet another oligopoly that’s no different than the one that currently dominates the mortgage market,” says Lawler.

“It’s a structure that could lead to less choice for the consumer and a situation where the client isn’t necessarily receiving the advice that best suits them.”

In appointing Daly to lead a recruitment charge, Yellow Brick Road will hope to draw on his experience in the industry as it expands its team of advice specialists.

Daly left AFS in late May after falling out with the board.

“We passionately believe that advisers are seeking a real alternative to being a part of the oligopoly, yet retain a strong client brand that other independent groups have rarely achieved,” says Daly.

“That is increasingly rare in the financial services sector, and I look forward to working with Matt Lawler and the Yellow Brick Road team to make this a reality.”