Centrepoint spruiks first-half adviser growth

In a listing on the ASX on Monday, Centrepoint Alliance said it boasts $67 billion in funds under advice (FUA) held with 518 licensed advisers, 206 boutique AFSLs representing some 820 advisers and a net growth of 17 over the first half of the 2023–24 financial year

It noted that a total of 1,338 advisers service around 160,000 customers, with an average of roughly $50 million FUA per adviser.

Centrepoint Alliance also reported that its EBITDA rose 11 per cent in FY2024 compared with the same period in FY23 to $4.1 million. It attributed this growth to a mix of organic growth and the recent acquisition of Financial Advice Matters (FAM), which was finalised on 1 December 2023.

Queensland-based financial planning group FAM operates in eight locations and provides advice to over 1,550 household clients, with funds under advice in excess of $1 billion.

“The acquisition is strategically important, creating operating scale in the important higher margin salaried advice segment, with 15 advisers joining the group creating a national presence of 19 advisers,” Centrepoint said.

Centrepoint also said that its recruitment pipelines across the licensed and self-licensed business lines are strong, largely driven by the disruption caused by licensee consolidation.

“Opportunities to recruit advisers will continue to materialise due to disruption in the market,” it said.

Profit before tax was down $1.3 million to $2.4 million, primarily due to a one-off $1.6 million asset sale in the prior corresponding period, while gross revenue jumped $6.3 million (4.7 per cent) to $140.5 million for the half.

“As the newly appointed chair, I am proud to be part of a company that plays such an important role in providing essential services to the financial advice industry,” said Centrepoint chair Georg Chmiel.

“Our executive team has consistently delivered strong results, benefiting from acquisitions, organic adviser growth, and disciplined cost management. The business is well placed with our strong community of advisers providing scale. I am confident, our pipeline of strategic initiatives will deliver future growth as we continue to build our powerful wealth platform.”

Centrepoint chief executive John Shuttleworth added that the firm is at an “incredibly exciting phase of its development”.

“Business has significant scale thanks to the trust placed in us by the 1,338 advisers we service. With the current dislocation in the market, we are seeing significant opportunity as advisers look for a licensee they can trust to help them with the services they need to manage their business,” Mr Shuttleworth said.

“The recent acquisition of FAM is an important step to build a larger profitable salaried advice business complementing our licensee services. The pending launch of the IconiQ Platform and iQ portfolios launched in December will further expand the services we can offer our community of advisers.”