IOOF secures Godfrey Pembroke advisers

The move was indicated by the Practice Development Group (PDG) on Wednesday, a body comprising a board of Godfrey Pembroke peer-elected advisers, elected to represent the interests of advisers in the network.

The advisers will transition to a Godfrey Pembroke branded licence under IOOF at completion.

The gain is a win for IOOF, as it strives to convince the self-employed MLC advisers to transition over to any IOOF brand of their liking. Some have already indicated they will not be joining the wealth behemoth. 

Following the MLC acquisition announcement, the PDG had been tasked by its members to evaluate if IOOF’s proposal would be a suitable fit for the group, conducting due diligence, as well as reviewing alternative licensee solutions.

The PDG stated its objective had been to find an “adviser led” solution, with its members signalling a strong desire to retain the Godfrey Pembroke community and for the representative body to remain intact.

The body had surveyed member firms, reporting the majority, including all members of its board, had indicated their intention to transition to a new license under IOOF.

PDG chair Bernard Schortinghuis said IOOF had been “open to considering new ways to approach an adviser-led licensee solution, tailored to the complex and high-net-worth space”.

“The new licensee offer, which is considered to be unique in the market, has been designed collaboratively with IOOF,” Mr Schortinghuis said.

The advisers will reportedly operate under their current frameworks, aiming for a less disruptive transition and the current PDG structure will continue.

There will also be a non-executive board seat for a PDG director on the AFSL.

“IOOF was the only licensee to offer this which was considered to be a key factor in ensuring that the dialogue between the PDG and licensing board is fluid and transparent,” PDG director Henry Mantzouratos said.

“Often a criticism of large institutional licensees is that the voice of the adviser is missing when key strategic and operational decisions are made. The AFSL board seat addresses this as the advisers are represented at the licensee board level.”