ANZ Wealth to Keep Insurance on the Table

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ANZ Wealth has stated it will continue to invest in its life insurance business but may sell it separately from its pensions, investments and aligned advice businesses, which have been sold to IOOF.

ANZ Group Executive Wealth Australia, Alexis George
ANZ Group Executive Wealth Australia, Alexis George

In a media statement, the ANZ Bank stated it had sold its OnePath pensions and investments business and its advice businesses, which include Millennium3, RI Advice, Elders Financial Planning and Financial Services Partners and their 717 advisers, to IOOF for $975 million.

The bank also entered into a 20-year strategic alliance to make IOOF superannuation and investment products available to ANZ customers.

The deal, which is due for completion within a year, will result in ANZ retaining its OnePath Life Insurance business, its group and individual insurance businesses and ANZ Financial Planning, with 286 advisers.

In a separate statement, ANZ Group Executive Wealth Australia, Alexis George stated the bank would continue to invest in its insurance arm.

“…ANZ is still committed to the strategy of not manufacturing insurance. So we need to look for alternatives for insurance…”

As part of this, George pointed to the recent appointment of Shannon McKay as Head of Life Insurance Customer Engagement and Maria Falas as Head of Mental Health and Wellness, Life Insurance, and Andrew Casperson as Head of Individual Life.

However, in a video interview hosted on ANZ’s website, George reconfirmed ANZ was still looking at moving away from being a life insurance manufacturer.

“As we’ve gone through this process it’s become clear that its actually better for the customers and for the shareholder that we separate the superannuation and insurance businesses and look for alternative outcomes for both of those,” George said.

“Now, ANZ is still committed to the strategy of not manufacturing insurance. So we need to look for alternatives for insurance,” she added.

“We’ve been very clear that we want to offer wealth solutions to customers. That has not changed, we want to offer wealth solutions to our customers. But we’re not the best owner or the best manufacture of super and insurance. So that’s where we are going.”



1 COMMENT

  1. Another bank getting out of wealth creation and super. Someone should tell industry funds. There are fewer and fewer WOLVES eating chickens!

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