- New Government Agency to Address Disability Needs
- AMP Sells General Insurance Division
- AFS Adds Queensland Practice
- MQ Financial Services Appoints CEO
New Government Agency to Address Disability Needs
The Federal Government has announced it will establish a new agency to lead the design of its National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Announced by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, at the Australian Labor Party’s National Conference last weekend, the new agency will have access to $10 million to fund projects that identify practical ways to prepare the disability sector and workforce, and people with a disability, for the delivery of disability services under the new scheme.
Following in the footsteps of Medicare, the Government says the NDIS will operate on insurance principles and give people with disability greater control and choice over the services they receive, through individualised funding.
The Labor Party voted unanimously in favour of the proposal.
AMP Sells General Insurance Division
AMP has announced the sale of its General Insurance Distribution business to Suncorp.
Prior to the deal, Suncorp provided general insurance products to AMP via a distribution network of more than 700 authorised representatives.
AMP Director Financial Planning, Advice and Services, Steve Helmich, said the transaction will provide uninterrupted support for General Insurance Distribution authorised representatives.
“Suncorp will continue to provide product, marketing and services under the same terms and conditions as today. With this transaction, General Insurance Distribution authorised representatives will become part of a company committed to strong growth in general insurance and to investing in and developing general insurance professionals,” Mr Helmich said.
The transaction is expected to complete on 31 December 2011.
AFS Adds Queensland Practice
Australian Financial Services Group (AFS) has welcomed Brisbane-based Alps Network to its ranks.
AFS CEO and Managing Director, Peter Daly, said the new practice would bolster the group’s presence in Queensland, and the practice’s principals, Peter Larkin and Lance Meikle, were to be commended for their dedication and commitment to the provision of the very highest standards of planning advice and client service.
Mr Meikle said the decision to join AFS was prompted by a need to align with a licensee who would support Alps’ fee-for-advice business model.
“It was especially encouraging that joining AFS Group required adherence to very high entry levels, stringent due diligence requirements and the need to ensure that our collective business and cultural DNA were aligned,” Mr Meikle said.
MQ Financial Services Appoints CEO
Boutique advice business MQ Financial Services has announced plans to corporatise, with the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer.
Former Commonwealth Bank Area Manager, Steve Watts, has accepted the CEO role. Speaking about his appointment, Mr Watts said: “Essentially MQ is a group of highly successful planners each in their own right but collectively they recognised that they needed a corporate overlay to take their business to the next level.”
“Our mission is simply to be regarded as Australia’s finest boutique private wealth practice,” he added.
MQ Financial Services is licensed through BT Financial Group’s Magnitude Dealer Group and has offices in Upper Mount Gravatt, Gold Coast and Kawana.
