Generation Development Group CEO Grant Hackett believes research has become more important than ever in light of the impact the Shield and First Guardian collapses have had on the industry.
Hackett will discuss the emerging powerhouse’s corporate strategy, as well as the future of investment research, asset consulting and managed accounts in a fireside chat at next week’s Researcher Forum in the NSW Blue Mountains.
“That service is going to deepen in the industry, [and] brands like Lonsec – who have the credibility in the research space – with the likes of First Guardian and Shield, they become even more important gatekeepers,” tells Professional Planner.
“When your research provider becomes critical as part of that, you want to make sure you have someone that’s there for the long term who’s got the team, the resources to be able to really do the work.”
And it’s not just the GDG-owned Lonsec that the former Olympic champion now financial services executive believes will play a crucial role in the industry, but other peers including Zenith and Morningstar as well.
“It’s going to become more critical as ASIC and other regulators put more requirements on the likes of the platforms and trustees and the RE [responsible entity] requirements, moving forward,” Hackett says.
“It’s going to be more expensive for their businesses and they need efficiencies to be able to help do the things that they need to do to make sure they’re doing the right thing by their customers. We see that as an opportunity for groups like ours to be able to assist with that.”
The collapse of Shield and First Guardian has seen $1.2 billion in retirement savings of 11,000 investors left in limbo, with the role research played coming into focus as ASIC takes SQM to court over allegations that it didn’t thoroughly review the funds.
“There’s areas where we see more opportunities where we sit within the ecosystem – we’re in this unique position where we’re really a big part of the ecosystem and we want to make sure that we help that system avoid issues like First Guardian and Shield,” Hackett says.
Exponential growth
The rise of GDG has been one of the industry’s success stories, with BlackRock taking a $25 million stake in the ASX-listed company, which is chaired by industry veteran Rob Coombe.
The company’s market cap in June 2018 was $50.5 million which has since grown to $3 billion, as of October 2025.
Its most recent financial year results show $141.3 million in group revenue and statutory net profit after tax of $38.2 million.
GDG acquired a 37 per cent stake in Lonsec in October 2020 and worked closely with the company over the following years before launching a complete take over in August 2024. It also acquired Evidentia in February 2025.
GDG split Lonsec Investment Solutions, the researcher’s managed account and asset consulting arm, from Lonsec Research and Ratings and incorporated it into Evidentia.
But Hackett says splitting the Lonsec business would’ve happened without the acquisition of Evidentia.
“Evidentia was a catalyst to do it at that point in time,” Hackett says.
“They wouldn’t just look at doing the asset consultancy and being the outsourced CIO, they’re also doing client communications, practice management, helping them with M&A. They were quite a different managed account business to what we had with Lonsec.”
The company also recently acquired respected advice practice consultants Encore Advisory through Evidentia to help boost expertise in that area, with Hackett saying the acquisition is a key value proposition.
“I get a lot of questions from investors – what’s your point of difference? I said, look, everyone can do the investments pretty well,” Hackett says.
“It’s all the add ons and how you help them grow and scale up their business. Get the right tech stack, give them advice on how to really scale up their advice practice.”
Managed accounts drive
Hackett says the group picked managed accounts as a structural change back in 2018 but couldn’t find a way into the sector until taking its minority stake in Lonsec.
“I didn’t realise they had a managed account business at the time,” Hackett says.
“I looked into the business and I just thought of how good their model is – they’re gatekeepers of distribution.”
But back in 2018, Hackett notes there were two shifts happening: adviser frustration due to the Hayne royal commission, and the growing belief that managed accounts would become a more efficient structure for them to manage client investments.
“They were trying to create more efficiency in their business and they got hit through all this additional compliance administration from the royal commission and were wondering if they were going to be able to survive through that period,” Hackett says.
“There’s even tax efficiencies by having a managed account structure. There was a lot of green flags around the managed account sector and so we just though, we really want to own this space.”
Grant Hackett will be speaking at the Professional Planner Researcher Forum in the NSW Blue Mountains on 2-3 December. Limited places are still available to attend the event.
