Insignia finalises ‘significant separation milestone’ for MLC

On Tuesday, Insignia Financial announced it has finalised the separation of MLC Wealth from NAB, having acquired the firm in 2021.

Insignia described the transition of over 700,000 MasterKey and Plum accounts and 55 systems and applications, and more than 100 terabytes of data as one of the largest wealth management separations in Australia’s financial services history.

The result of the separation being completed is that Insignia is "no longer reliant" on any NAB systems or technology to service its customers, employers and advisers, adding that its employees are also now operating entirely within the Insignia Financial environment.

“Separating MLC from NAB was the most important initiative we had to deliver as an organisation in FY25, and I am pleased to announce this significant separation milestone,” said Insignia chief executive Scott Hartley.

“Following the migration of MLC Wrap, MLC Navigator, and associated offers to the MLC Expand platform in April, this separation further demonstrates our ability to deliver complex, large-scale transformation projects.”

The firm added that it had upgraded its infrastructure and applications, enhanced system performance and uplifted security and monitoring to make its environment "safer for members".

It has also introduced what it call operational improvements for technology teams to improve system and infrastructure management, while transitioning some applications, including MLC’s core registry system, to the cloud.

“While there is still work to be done before we formally exit the Transitional Services Agreement (TSA) in May 2025, achieving this critical milestone sets us up to simplify our Master Trust capabilities and enables us to shift our focus in FY26 towards accelerated and sustainable growth, driven by a relentless obsession with our customers,” Hartley said.

“This separation will simplify and streamline processes and deliver significant cost savings with the exit of the TSA. These savings are included in the FY25 net cost reduction of $60-65 million, and in the net BAU opex reduction goal of ~$200 million over FY26-30.”

The acquisition of MLC Wealth from NAB was carried out by Insignia – which was then known as IOOF – in May 2021 and saw 406 MLC financial advisers join the firm.

Earlier this year, it completed the migration of MLC Wrap and MLC Navigator to the MLC Expand platform. This affected $39 billion in funds under administration (FUA) and 94,000 customer accounts with the enlarged Expand platform now the third-largest wrap platform by FUA.