A number of non-aligned advice groups have completed new initiatives aimed at growing their size and services including offering services outside face to face financial advice.
As part of this shift, Infocus Wealth Management has launched a no-cost, direct to consumer robo-advice service called earnie.com.au.
The new service will sit alongside its face to face advice service with the group also running its own funds management and wealth technology services.
The online offering will use Morningstar to provide research and calculation methodologies for investments and Praemium for direct investments with users managing their own investments or seeking advice from an Infocus adviser, who will explain the concepts of financial advice to clients if and where required.
Infocus Managing Director and Chief Executive, Rod Bristow said the new online service was not designed to replace financial advisers but offered more choice to consumers in how they engaged with advice.
He said around 80% of the Australian population don’t currently receive financial advice and earnie.com.au would help bridge this gap and was core to Infocus’ strategy of providing advice for Australians from all walks of life.
Omniwealth Moves Into General Insurance
Diversified financial services group, Omniwealth, has also moved in a new direction adding a General Insurance broking service alongside its financial advice, accounting, mortgage broking and real estate services.
The Sydney based business will offer the service to business clients with Group Managing Director, Matthew Kidd stating that general insurance was overlooked by many licensees but was useful for advisers assisting small to medium business in protecting their assets.
The general insurance advice will be offered by specialist insurance broker Anthony Anastasio under the banner of Omniwealth Insurance Services.
Fortnum Adds Five Practices to FPSA
Fortnum Financial Advisers has also grown its overall advice footprint adding five practices in the Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney areas to its boutique offering FPSA Group Pty Ltd.
The five practices – LifeGuard Financial Services, APS Financial Planning and Mornington Financial Services in Melbourne, Redthorn Private Wealth in Adelaide, and The Money Barre in Sydney – have all joined Fortnum/FPSA in the last six months.
The practice cited FPSA’s non-institutional ownership and client-first focus as key reasons for changing licensee with Fortnum Financial Advisers and FPSA Managing Director, Joel Taylor labelling the group as the next generation of professional advisory firms, adding that the average age of an FPSA adviser was 41 years old.
