Former Godfrey Pembroke CEO to lead Vital Business Partners

Outgoing Godfrey Pembroke chief executive Mark Fisher will lead outsourced paraplanner specialist firm Vital Business Partners as CEO, following his departure from the licensee.

Fisher will replace Nathan Jacobsen who was appointed chief operating officer of VBP’s parent company AZ NGA in January but had been performing both roles.

Fisher tells Professional Planner the new role will put him at the forefront of helping advice practices drive efficiency.

“How can businesses, both of the licensee side and the advice side, use tech in combination with great people to generate greater efficiency and great outcomes for clients?” Fisher says.

“That’s why I’m fascinated and really interested in the role, because at it’s at the forefront of helping the businesses out in a really tangible way.”

Fisher will join VBP on 1 June at a time when advice firms are seeking service providers to partner with for support to adopt new technologies such as automation and AI, improve cyber security and risk management, and scale sustainably.

Fisher oversaw Godfrey Pembroke during a key transition for the company when he led it through extraction from the Insignia Financial group back to adviser ownership.

“We have a very close relationship with Scott [Hartley, Insignia Financial CEO] and his team and they’ve supported us massively over the last two years,” Fisher says.

Fisher says the past two years have seen the licensee maintain high compliance standards for its advice.

 “We’ve had a sparkling, clean audit – we have no complaints, no compliance issues, we have no incidents,” Fisher says.

“I believe we’re an extremely well-run licensee. But now the vision is… we’d like to grow, not massively, and for the business to grow… advisers need to take on the task of doing it.”

John Nantes, an advice practice owner in the Godfrey Pembroke, will take over as CEO of the group further entrenching the “adviser-owned” ethos of the licensee.

Fisher says the group is in a good financial position but its co-operative structure means profit isn’t the primary goal.

“It needs to be profitable but not massively so, it’s a co-operative of advisers underneath a company,” Fisher says.

“You want to make sure there’s enough revenue and enough profit in the business to make sure you’ve got good employees, the right vendors and the right services you can invest in and develop your offer, but beyond that it’s not a massive profit-making exercise.”

Prior to Godfrey Pembroke, Fisher was managing director of Securitor Financial Group, and has also previously held senior executive roles at BT Financial Group, Macquarie Private Wealth and AXA.

“The cost of [running] a small licensee, you very clearly understand the cost, not only on the licensing side and the AFSL side but on the advice business side, so you’ve got a good feel for both,” Fisher says.

“Both of them are very expensive, they’re costly and there’s not a lot of revenue streams. You can’t suddenly pluck revenue streams out of the blue.”

He adds most businesses need to maximise profit margin by lowering costs without lowering value.

“A lot of businesses do both, they’re generating new revenue but they’re also reviewing their cost structure so it’s a combination of using a service that’s more efficient and costs less but it’s also about tech,” Fisher says.

VBP currently has around 300 clients and over 1500 team members, spread across offices in Sydney, and Cebu City and Cagayan De Oro in the Philippines.

The business provides a range of services including intelligent automation, paraplanning, administration support, and accounting and bookkeeping, and business consulting.

AZ NGA acquired 40 per cent of VBP in 2022 and is now majority owner, giving founders David Carney and David Deegan a succession plan for the business.

VBP later bought Elixir Consulting, run by Sue Viskovic and offering her a succession plan for the growing WA-based advice practice consultancy firm, which expanded VBP’s services.

Jacobsen was brought on to lead VBP, having departed Diverger as managing director after it was acquired by ASX-listed rival Count.