Bankrupt former Wealthsure adviser David Bertram is resurrecting his career at boutique dealer group Sentinel Private Wealth, which has added four practices and 10 authorised representatives in the last three months.
The Queensland-based licensee, which is owned by accountant and financial adviser Brad Gunn, has appointed Bertram as chief executive and handed him the task of recruiting new firms.
Bertram, who is embroiled in a $1.7-million legal action between his former employer WealthSure and disgruntled former clients Ronald and Janna Selig, was declared bankrupt in August.
The case relates to significant losses as a result of Wealthsure and Bertram advising Ronald and Janna Selig to invest in Neovest and Norton Capital, which have since gone into liquidation.
Gunn said he approached Bertram in June to run Sentinel, which has since picked up a number of former Wealthsure advisers. Bertram has equity in the licensee and new member firms will also be offered shares.
“We’re going to be lean and mean, with a nice strong approved-product list and four-to-five responsible managers,” Gunn said.
“David has a lot of contacts and – putting aside his current position, which has nothing to do with Sentinel – we are happy to support him.”
Gunn admitted the group had been in recent contact with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission about “amendments to its licence”, and had also appointed external legal and compliance firm, Holley Nethercote.
Previously an authorised representative of WealthSure, Gunn is the managing partner of Vault Financial Group and Bespoke Financial Group, which is licensed by Sentinel. According to the Vault Financial Group website, it specialises in the establishment of self-managed superannuation funds, direct financial advice, SMSF property loans and self-funding instalment warrants for geared shares.
“I wasn’t getting value for money from my previous dealer group, so I decided to be self-licensed. I’d had the AFSL for three years, but it was just sitting there dormant so I approached David to run it,” he said.
