NAB touts ‘independent’ MLC to advisers

NAB confirmed yesterday the sale of its wealth management businesses under the MLC brand by the end of the 2019 calendar year.

The news was broken to aligned advisers in an email from NAB general manager for advice Ross Barnwell, obtained by ifa.

In the email, Mr Barnwell said the businesses – including MLC Financial Planning, Apogee, Garvan Godfrey Pembroke and Meritum – would be part of an “independently owned wealth management business”.

“It’s expected there will be ongoing arrangements between NAB and the independently owned wealth business to offer NAB customers continued access to advice and products to meet their wealth management needs,” Mr Barnwell said in the email.

“The design of the ongoing relationship model is a key focus as we prepare for the separation of the businesses,” he said.

Mr Barnwell also provided NAB-aligned advisers with an email template for clients, explaining there would be “no impact on our relationship with your, or on your investments”.

“The teams that manage your MLC investments will be included in the newly independent wealth business and there will be no change to them or their investment processes,” says the letter.

ifa spoke to NAB chief customer officer Andrew Hagger yesterday, asking him specifically about the use of the term ‘independent’ in the communications with advisers.

“What we've announced is that a likely pathway is the demerger of MLC which, in turn, will create an ASX100 company which is owned by institutional and retail shareholders in Australia. It will be able to carve its own investment path, and it will clearly be independent,” Mr Hagger said.

Mr Hagger said NAB advisers will no longer have to explain the relationship with MLC to their clients.

“It's just something that advisers had needed to explain. And in an independent model, that's not something that needs to be explained,” he said.