Loan Market sets sights on advice

The new dealer group, named Wealth Market, will be led by former Professional Investment Services regional manager Jason Powell.

Mr Powell was the regional manager of PIS covering NSW, Victoria and Tasmania between October 2012 and March 2014.

Former State Super Financial Services manager for advice and professional standards Steven Quine will head up compliance and risk at Wealth Market, and former Citigroup research manager Andrew Ash will be head of research.

Wealth Market is already advertising for financial planners to join the group, with a LinkedIn job advertisement describing an “exciting opportunity for an experienced financial planner to join Wealth Market in Sydney”.

The advertisement says the financial planner in question will service a “massive referral network from Ray White and Loan Market”.

The successful applicant will need a “solid sales background” as well as strong working knowledge of “all financial planning areas”.

According to the advertisement, Wealth Market is “a newly formed Financial Planning dealership that aims to change the way financial advice is perceived by everyday Australians”.

The Wealth Market website is up and running, with a note on the front page reading, “An exciting new venture in financial planning is just around the corner – launching soon!”

Loan Market’s decision to enter the wealth management space follows in the footsteps of Mortgage Choice, which launched a financial planning dealer group in late 2012.