AZ NGA buys firm, announces ‘ecosystem’ plans

According to a statement, AZ NGA has signed a binding sale and purchase agreement to acquire ON-TRACK Financial Solutions – a Perth-based advice firm licensed by CBA’s Financial Wisdom.

The firm is responsible for approximately $170 million of client funds and comprises a team of nine staff members, including three financial planners.

The latest agreement is the eighteenth transaction for AZ NGA in the last 18 months, the statement said.

AZ NGA chief executive Paul Barrett said, “ON-TRACK is a natural fit for AZ NGA as the team is led by highly experienced financial planners in Odelia D’Silva and Bruce Nicholson, and has an exciting growth plan which we will be able to assist with.”

At the same time, AZ NGA announced it is now making efforts to establish a “next generation ecosystem” for its financial planning firms.

Mr Barrett said, “AZ NGA has now developed significant scale and our planners are working with us to identify what the financial planning firm of the future will look like.

“We need to identify what a technology-savvy, professional advisory firm will look like over the next three to five years and begin to embrace that.

“Financial planning firms need to move away from legacy retail structures with inefficient systems, embrace open architecture and utilise technology to remain successful and relevant. We are working with all of our firms to achieve this in the long run.”