Capstone to target accountants in land grab

The Melbourne-based national financial planning group Capstone Financial Planning has signalled the beginning of an expansion drive with the appointment of a national network manager.

Reporting to Capstone managing director Grant O’Riley, Jamie Johns has joined Capstone from Bendigo/Adelaide Bank, where she was senior manager of financial planning.

Prior to joining Capstone, Johns worked with AMP, Genesys and ING/OnePath.

Capstone is planning an assault on the accounting segment, which will involve developing new services and offers.

Johns was unavailable for comment on Tuesday. In a statement, she said that Capstone had “an ideal business model for the accounting world” and that it would “continue to explore new business opportunities that complement the Capstone model”.

O’Riley says the accounting marketplace is “a strategic choice for Capstone’s future”.

“We are a non-aligned dealer group with a range of support services that can assist not only financial planning practices, but can facilitate the growth of accounting practices too,” he says.

“Capstone already has accounting businesses within the group and further expansion in this space is a natural progression for us.”

O’Riley says many accountants will need to align with a professional licensee in future years and Capstone believes it fit the mould entirely.

“With continued industry consolidation, Capstone remains one of the few true non-aligned, independently owned licensees which will be a definitive requirement for accountants,” he says.

This move by the independently owned Capstone is expected to be mirrored by other financial planning groups as they move to capitalise on changes to the licensing arrangements for accountants and to develop support systems and structures for accountants who wish to become involved – or more involved – in financial planning under the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) changes and under APES 230, set by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board.

In a Professional Planner survey earlier this year, more than 70 per cent of respondents said they expected more accountants to offer financial planning services once APES 230 comes into effect.

Capstone was established in 2002. It has $2 billion of funds under management and has offices in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.