Agitating for independence

Genesys Wealth Advisers member firm Treysta Wealth Management has gained its own Australian Financial Services Licence and is in negotiations to leave the AMP-owned dealer group after three years.

AMP owns a minority interest in the Sydney-based firm which is in the process of buying back AMP’s stake.

The terms of the agreement are confidential, Treysta Wealth Management’s Mark Nagle told Professional Planner Online.

“We will continue working long and hard to deliver value to our clients but we hope to implement a new licensing structure next year,” he said.

Treysta Wealth Management joined Genesys in 2010 from Australian Financial Services. The firm specialises in providing advice to high net worth individuals and families, and outsources investment management to Implemented Portfolios.

Approximately 60 per cent of clients’ assets are held off platform in an individually managed account structure that manages assets via an external custodian, while ensuring that clients retain the beneficial ownership of all investments.

“The custodial relationship removes the administrative burdens associated with managing a portfolio of direct investments, and at the same time allows clients to transfer portfolios from one manager to another without incurring capital gains tax liabilities,” Nagle said.

A spokeswoman for AMP said Genesys Wealth Advisers had experienced solid growth in 2013 with 44 new authorized representatives, including six new member firms, joining the group.

Over 70 per cent of member firms elected to sign up to the group’s new Evolution licensee package, which was launched in December 2012.