From the Source

You are in News + Outlook ⁄ From the Source ⁄ AZ Next Generation Advisory subsidiary, Wise Planner acquires AFM

AZ Next Generation Advisory subsidiary, Wise Planner acquires AFM

02 Nov 2017

From AZ Next Generation Advisory

Paul Barrett

Wise Planners, trading as Lifestyle Financial Services, has announced that it has acquired the client book of AFM Advisers Pty Ltd. AFM was the business owned by the late Haydon Skudder who sadly passed away on June 3.

Wise Planners CEO, Gareth Hall, had known Haydon for many years. According to Gareth “Haydon Skudder was passionate about his business, so passionate he worked until he was almost 93 years old. It is an honour for me to continue his legacy by working with the AFM team and their clients.”

“Haydon was also well known for his exploits as a world war two Spitfire Pilot having taken hits from enemy fire over Holland surviving to tell the tale. Haydon was a very special man!”

AFM has amassed $284 million of assets under advice over several decades and provides a full suite of financial planning services including workplace superannuation services. The transaction came about as a result of Gareth discussing succession solutions with Haydon and with AFM’s previous Managing Director, Terry Rhodes. According to Gareth “the partnership with AZ NGA has enabled me to offer flexible succession solutions to a number of firms over the past two years. I am able to meet my growth goals while simultaneously solving succession for others and can execute quickly given the AZ NGA skillset.”

Since joining the AZ NGA network in November 2015 Wise Planners has acquired Domane Financial Advisers, the workplace super clients of Principal Edge Financial Services, Northbridge Financial Solutions, Healthy Finances, and now AFM. This acquisition brings Wise Planners total advised funds to $1.8 billion.

AZ NGA CEO Paul Barrett says “Our growth model is backed up by a first class Mergers & Acquisitions capability that we have built in house. When firms are dealing with us they know that we have the capital and the execution capability to get deals done. Gareth has taken his business from $400 million to $1.8 billion in just under two years.”

AZ NGA will complete its 35th transaction this week and has another 6 planned deals before the end of the year including two accounting firms.

Tags:Gareth Hall Haydon Skudder Paul Barrett

Earn CPD Points

CPD: The Two-Chapter retirement – a framework for understanding retiree psychology
Introduction Why do financially secure retirees still hesitate to spend, or commit to strategies that would clearly improve their outcomes? This article sets out the Two-Chapter Retirement framework, a new [...]
CPD: China’s next phase – what persistent supply-side growth means for global markets
China’s economic trajectory is shifting, but not in the way many had once expected. Consumption-led rebalancing has not materialised. Instead, economic policy continues to emphasise industrial modernisation, aligned with a [...]
CPD: Ethics and client best interests
In financial advice, acting in a client’s best interest isn’t just a regulatory rule, it’s the foundation of a trusting, successful partnership. This article, proudly sponsored by GSFM, examines the [...]
CPD: Capitalising on global growth in the decarbonisation era
Few themes rival the scale, urgency and long-term significance of climate change. Consequently, regions, countries, companies and individuals are taking positive action to decarbonise the planet and work toward net [...]
CPD: Decoding the compliance signals within AFCA’s Lead Decisions
Introduction In February 2026, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), reached a significant milestone when it issued its 1,000th Dixon Advisory determination[1]. Up until that point, this represented the single [...]