AZ NGA platform tender escalates ‘data war’

AZ NGA, the private equity-backed advice aggregator with $38 billion in funds under advice, is close to completing an RFP process that could upend the economics of platforms, which have dominated the wealth industry value chain since the Hayne royal commission.

Professional Planner can reveal that the aggregator – which owns or holds stakes in at least 30 advice firms, quietly commenced an RFP earlier this year seeking pared back services from platform providers that would give AZ NGA and its member firms more control of advice process and investment management.

AZ NGA chief executive Paul Barrett confirmed the tender, but declined to comment on specifics given the terms and process are commercial in confidence.

“The economics of the financial services value chain don’t add up, and we’ve been vocal about our mission to invert the value chain and put advice at the top,” Barret said more broadly.

“It was always our plan, once we got organised to leverage our scale and buying power to seek a better deal for our clients, and that’s not just about price.”

The development follows explosive comments by Barrett at the Professional Planner Licensee Summit in June that licensees and advisers should take back control of client data, which were described by some industry leaders at the conference as responsible for sparking a “data war” between licensees and platforms. 

It is understood that at least two major platform providers are still in the process to win the tender. Others which did not participate questioned whether the pared back services could be provided profitably at the price limits implicit in the arrangement, notwithstanding AZ NGA’s considerable scale.

Industry sources also questioned whether an advice provider taking on functions traditionally provided by platforms or asset managers – such as active management of interest rates on client cash accounts – introduced fresh conflicts of interest or forms of conflicted remuneration. Others questioned whether holistic, professional advice firms these days had the expertise to manage investments including cash. 

Short-lived solidarity

A source with intimate knowledge of the tender process, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the platforms initially showed solidarity, arguing the economics were too favourable to the advice provider. 

But eventually at least two platforms entered into negotiations with AZ NGA, which is part-owned by storied Wall Street investor Oaktree, as well as Italian asset manager Azimut. A deal between AZ NGA and one of the platform providers is believed to be imminent.

A number of major licensees are believed to be watching the AZ NGA process closely to see if a blueprint could emerge for future negotiations with platforms, which have been the most successful segment of the value chain since the Hayne royal commission excoriated the once-powerful bank-owned institutional wealth managers. 

That at least two platforms have been willing to entertain the project on the terms set by Barrett and his team raises the spectre of a shift in the power dynamics and economics of the industry, whereby advice providers take on a greater share of functions ordinarily provided by platforms or managed account providers.

It comes as part of a global trend, with fees for “custodians” (akin to platforms) in the US wealth market hitting as low as zero basis points by providers such as Charles Schwab and Altruist. Like Australia, the downward pressure on fees is largely a corollary of increasing consolidation and private equity capital investment in licensed advice providers. 

However these low-cost providers to US wealth managers still ordinarily keep control of cash management, earning revenue from spreads.

Platform, managed account and licensee business models will be a key topic of conversation at the Professional Planner Researcher Forum in the NSW Blue Mountains on 1-2 December 2026. Limited spots are still available. Strict eligibility criteria applies.