Infocus moves to 100% independent ownership

Infocus Wealth Management today confirmed it has moved to independent ownership, with the shares held by major institution MLC being bought back by existing shareholders of the group. This significant development means Infocus is now one of the few truly independent wealth management firms operating in the market.

Infocus Managing Director, Rod Bristow, is delighted with the outcome. According to Bristow, “We believe that offering Australian consumers genuine choice for their financial advice is essential to a healthy marketplace. Being independently owned means we are now in this unique position. This has been an important strategic goal for the group and, after working toward this outcome for some time, it’s nice to be here,” he said.

“For retail clients seeking financial advice from an Infocus Adviser, the benefits of independent ownership are obvious”, Bristow said. “Clients can be assured their advice is strategic in nature and helps them meet their life goals, regardless of the products that may be chosen to help them get there,” he said. “Importantly, for Advisers, independent ownership supports Infocus’ unique value proposition. We partner with financial planning practices in helping them bring their business aspirations to life”. “We know what’s needed to support independent advice businesses because we grew from an independent advice business ourselves – it’s in our corporate DNA,” Bristow said.

Independent ownership is another step in a successful year for the group, having been one of few dealer groups to arm its network with FoFA ready systems and tools months in advance of FoFA’s implementation. Whilst much of the FoFA regulatory framework is currently under review, Bristow says, “a potential turn around on some aspects of the FoFA regulation might be frustrating for Financial Advisers, however Infocus Advisers who choose to continue with many of the client-facing processes developed under the original FoFA regulations will retain considerable competitive edge over those in the industry who perhaps choose to do away with purposeful client engagement.”

In response to the status of the potential roll-back on elements of the FoFA regulation, Bristow says, “Infocus is nimble and agile enough to follow through on any regulatory changes. We operate our own proprietary CRM and advice generation software and can quickly ensure our advisers are able to respond to regulatory requirements, even as these change rapidly,” he said.

As for the continued growth strategy for Infocus, Bristow says, “We have a great team at Infocus and it is important to us that we continue to grow by partnering with like-minded professionals. As for definitive numbers of where we want to be, we do have a growth target in mind, however we will always strive for quality over quantity”.