The closure of Genesys Wealth Advisers has prompted one of its top firms to establish its own independent dealer group.
Stanford Brown Group has announced it will become the first corporate authorised representative of newly created licensee, The Lunar Group. The North Sydney-based practice was named National Genesys Member Firm of the Year six times in the last decade.
Stanford Brown CEO, Jonathan Hoyle, said the firm made the decision to form its own dealer group after surveying the market for an alternative licensee partner, following AMP’s announcement that it would no longer retain the Genesys brand.
Mr Hoyle said the management team had met with some exceptional dealer groups and rejected many lucrative offers to join established operations. “In the end, it came down to choosing the optimal structure that will let us ignore the noise currently occurring in the industry, and let us focus on what we do best – looking after our clients,” he explained.
“We have gathered great talent across our 35 staff in North Sydney, and they are all energised by the exciting plans we have in the pipeline, for our clients, that can quickly become a reality in our own licence environment.”
The Lunar Group has been established to embody the core beliefs of Stanford Brown, which are:
- That quality advice transforms lives
- An entrepreneurial spirit
- Heroic customer service
- A relentless commitment to excellence
“Under the founding of our Chairman, David Brown, we have a long history with both Genesys and Associated Planners and we will look back on the past 17 years with the fondest of memories,” Mr Hoyle said.
“We respect the honesty and integrity shown by AMP management in announcing that the Genesys model no longer complemented that of the larger AMP group. We would like to thank all the firms, principals and Genesys staff that have helped us build the wonderful business we have today.”
Stanford Brown will remain the only practice licensed through The Lunar Group for the immediate future, while the group matures its processes and governance. But Mr Hoyle said the licensee hoped to introduce new firms from 2016.
“We want to test our licensee procedures, governance and services and make sure they are scalable, relevant and valued before offering them to the wider market. Stanford Brown wouldn’t have joined a brand new dealer group without a track record, and we don’t expect the kind of discerning firms we will be targeting to do so either.”
