CountPlus sees surge in adviser inquiries

In a statement, CountPlus said it had recorded a net profit after tax of $5.95 million for the 2020 year, up from $3.68 million in 2019. The group attributed this to “deliberate operational focus and a disciplined approach to strategy”.

Addressing CountPlus’ AGM on Monday, chief executive Matthew Rowe said the group had “rebuilt” its value proposition in the course of the year and was attracting “record inquiries” from advisers wanting to join Count Financial following its transition from Commonwealth Bank ownership.

“At the time of this presentation we have had formal inquiries from 240 financial advisers seeking to join Count Financial,” Mr Rowe said.

“We remain vigilant with our growth plans and only three out of five financial advisers who get to due diligence are meeting our standards to be invited to join.”

The group flagged it was keen to explore further acquisitions to assist in the expansion of its member practices, as well as investment in “core-related business opportunities”, and had $27 million in cash and $25 million in debt funding set aside for this purpose.

“Investors today heard that CountPlus, through its operational focus and financial discipline, is on track with its stated vision to become Australia’s leading network of professional accounting and advice firms,” Mr Rowe said.

“This is despite the currently challenging economic conditions, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. We remain confident that the company can weather these challenges, but also take advantage of the numerous opportunities for growth we see in the dislocating financial advice sector.

“We have in place the prerequisites for prudent and selective expansion and look forward to updating the market on activities as they unfold.”

Gross business earnings per adviser in the group had increased by 39 per cent since September 2019, and average funds under advice per adviser had increased from $24.7 million to $31.8 million over the same period, Mr Rowe said in his presentation to shareholders.

He noted that while Count’s adviser numbers had shrunk from 360 in October 2019 to 245 in September 2020, client numbers had remained essentially steady at around 13,000, indicating the group was providing more advice with fewer advisers.