The new group executive in charge of AMP’s advice businesses and New Zealand operations, Jack Regan, has a mandate to accelerate the growth of its new objectives-based advice offering as the company focuses on improving cash flows and establishing clearer lines of accountability.
A spokesperson for AMP said yesterday Regan’s appointment is part of a restructuring “designed to create clearer single-point accountability” for its core business lines, with each of those business lines reporting directory to AMP chief executive officer Craig Meller.
Advice previously sat alongside banking and corporate super under group executive Rob Caprioli, who has left the company. AMP also announced the departure of Pauline Blight-Johnston as group executive, insurance, super and risk management; and Wendy Thorp, group executive, operations.
AMP’s advice division includes the AMP Advice, as well as AMP Financial Planning, AMP Horizons Academy, Hillross, Charter Financial Planning and ipac. There will be no changes to the current heads of the licensee businesses, with Tim Mitchell-Adams continuing to lead Charter and ipac; Michael Guggenheimer leading AMP Financial Planning and Hillross, as well as advice delivered through Horizons; and David Akers heading AMP Advice.
The AMP spokesperson said Regan has “a mandate to speed up the roll-out of our new AMP Advice network, and also drive our new direct business to scale rapidly”.
“We’re quite keen on improving cashflows from our non-advice channel via our direct business as well,” the spokesperson said.
The AMP spokesperson said yesterday it was too early to say exactly what impact Regan’s appointment would have on the growth of AMP Advice.
Last month Caprioli told Professional Planner that AMP Advice was operating in 11 locations and there would be as many as 30 operating before the end of the year.
Growth in numbers is contingent on existing AMP advice practices moving across to the new model, which incorporates a robo-enabled, goals-based front end, and a fee-for-service remuneration structure.
Caprioli described it as “not robo-advice in the sense of here’s a risk profile and here’s an investment allocation; this is actual advice”.
“The changes have just been announced today, and we have got a very clear focus as an organisation on improving cash flows and growing the business,” the AMP spokesperson said.
“We will share more detail on that at the end-of-year results on February 9 next year.”
The spokesperson said AMP did not anticipate any changes “at this time” to its existing advice networks.
“Certainly, if we were to look a things, we’d be updating the market in February,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement, AMP said Regan joined AMP in 2002 and was appointed managing director of its New Zealand financial services division in 2007.
It said Regan began his working life as a teacher, and has since spent more than 30 years in financial services. He has worked in distribution, marketing and operational roles at St George Bank, IOOF and GIO before joining Hillross in 2000.
