PIS stems adviser leakage

Announcing its annual financial results, PIS parent company Centrepoint Alliance said the number of adviser practices in the network decreased from 701 to 533 in the 2013 financial year.

In its previous annual reports it listed its adviser growth rate as zero per cent in the 2012 financial year and as 2 per cent in 2011.

PIS said the outflow of advisers was the result of rationalisation and changes to the industry following increases to regulation and compliance through regulatory changes including Future of Financial Advice changes.

PIS also blamed the impact of large institutions “increasing their domination of the industry by acquiring smaller businesses and offering attractive incentives for advisers to move to them.”

Centrepoint managing director John de Zwart said “the reduction in advisers seen over the last three years has ceased and we are building a solid platform for future growth.”

The PIS adviser network was the only non-profitable business unit for Centrepoint with the group still suffering the effects of poor advice provided between 2004 and 2010, with a $10.0 million loss through provisioning for client claims for poor advice. This was still down on the $16.7 million in client claims in the prior year.

Centrepoint said its revenues were boosted by an increase in the number of independent advisers outside its network taking up the use of its platforms. Ventura and All Star funds management and Investment Diversity platforms grew revenues by 16 per cent over the year.