Bankwest advice closure ‘a real shame’, says Infocus

ifa reported last week that CBA subsidiary Bankwest is in the process of closing its salaried advice division, with advisers being given the option to move across other CBA licensees.

Responding to the news, Mr Bristow said this move is “an emerging trend within institutional licensees”.

“It seems to us like the institutions want to either go direct-to-consumers or move solely to salaried advice models in order to have more control over their risks and margins,” he said.

“This is a real shame as these decisions appear to be being made without taking into account feedback from advisers or clients.”

Mr Bristow said this trend is unfairly forcing advisers to restructure their businesses.

“There are many, many fantastic advisers around the country giving great advice to their clients who, through no fault of their own, will be forced to restructure their businesses as the institutions unilaterally make decisions that impact their livelihoods,” he said.

“We believe the clock is ticking on some of the larger AFSLs currently within institutional ownership. It’s only a matter of time before these are either sold or closed down.

“Advisers in these cases will be left with no choice but to move to a salaried model within an internal AFSL of that institution or find a new home within a quality AFSL if they want to remain non-aligned.”