AMP Advice adds Melbourne firm ahead of Entireti move

On Thursday morning, AMP Advice announced that Stantins Financial Services has joined its network.

The multidisciplinary financial services firm based in Hawthorn specialises in financial advice, estate planning, wealth management, accounting, business and lending advisory.

According to practice principal and founder Spiros Livadaras, the firm made the decision to join AMP Advice to improve its cross-selling capacity and to grow the business.

“We decided to align with a professional services partner who shares our broader vision, beyond the scope of financial planning alone,” Livadaras said.

He added that the ability to operate independently while still benefiting from the practice management support and guidance of a larger professional services provider was also a driving factor.

“In our commitment to continued growth, it was crucial to find a partner who not only understands the diverse financial needs of our clients, including lending solutions, but also supports our goals to enhance efficiency and effectiveness,” Livadaras said.

“With this partnership with AMP Advice, we will be able to offer innovative new financial solutions that better serve the evolving needs of our clients.”

The move follows the August announcement that AMP would effectively be exiting the advice space, selling off 70 per cent of the advice arm to Entireti as well as its stakes in 16 advice firms to AZ NGA.

At the time, AMP Advice group executive Matt Lawler told ifa that “continuity of services” is an important factor for AMP’s advisers, highlighting the need to ensure that the transition is “seamless”.

“You don’t want this decision to create a whole lot of work for them, so the way it’s been structured is that there is no work for them,” he said in August.

“There are no decisions that they need to make. We’re actually lifting the licenses and bringing them across, that’s actually really important to them.”

Under the terms of the deal, Entireti will own 70 per cent of NewCo and AMP will have control of the remaining 30 per cent, with Lawler set to move across to the joint venture entity and take the CEO role.

Commenting on the addition of Stantins, Lawler said AMP Advice is continuing to focus on “supporting high-quality financial advice firms across Australia”.

“We take the opportunity of working with advice practices who see us as the right partner to help them achieve their goals very seriously – whether it’s growth, profitability or the ability to operate autonomously while continuing to benefit from the advantages of being part of a larger advice community, our team is here to add value,” he said.

“Spiros has been helping both emerging businesses and individual Australian households with expert tailored financial advice and strategies around wealth creation for over 30 years.”

Lawler also spruiked the value of the Entireti deal in bringing on new firms.

“Together with Entireti, we have the right scale and strength to deliver a high-quality professional service for practices like Stantins, helping them take advantage of the talent, expertise and experience offered by both organisations,” he said.

“We are excited to be partnering Spiros and his team at Stantins into the future and we look forward to supporting them in their business growth endeavours.”