Greg Cook

Multidisciplinary financial advice business, Eureka Whittaker Macnaught, has announced plans to become a super firm, with the imminent completion of three new acquisitions to boost the group’s annual revenue to $25 million and team members to 90 including 27 financial advisers, across eight locations.

This month, Eureka Whittaker Macnaught will acquire MSI Taylor Wealth Management, led by partners Peter O’Callaghan and Daniel Shine; Financial Design, led by principal Helen Postle; and Your Wealthy Life, led by Megan Neale.

The group’s latest acquisitions followed mergers with MTP Financial in Cairns in November and Wealthmed on the Sunshine Coast earlier this year.

Greg Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Eureka Whittaker Macnaught said the group’s latest transactions would deliver scale and efficiency benefits, and expanded its capabilities and capacity.

“Scale is increasingly important in financial advice not only to achieve operational and cost benefits but to increase our ability to meet the growing public demand for professional advice,” he said.

“We are pursuing a super firm strategy and on this journey we’ve been able to expand our client value proposition, provide career development opportunities for team members, and free up advisers to spend more time in front of clients.”

Over the past few years, Eureka Whittaker Macnaught has bought a number of professional services inhouse including accounting, mortgage broking and aged care advice.

Your Wealthy Life’s Neale said the backing of a business with a large, capable team and strong reputation attracted her to Eureka Whittaker Macnaught.

“Running solo is rewarding, however, I could see the benefits of joining a bigger business and the stability that comes with that,” she said.

“My clients now have access to a broader range of services and expertise, and they can feel confident that their advice journey will continue seamlessly even if I take some time off.”

Financial Design’s Postle added that partnering with Eureka Whittaker Macnaught would enable her to focus more on seeing clients and less on the operational aspects of running a business.

“Not only will I be able to spend more time seeing clients, but I’ll also have more time to spend mentoring team members, as I divest myself from the duties of running a business,” she said.

Anthony Menico, partner and financial adviser at MTP Financial, said the merger of MTP and Eureka Whittaker Macnaught delivered efficiency benefits and cost synergies.

“This merger benefits us all in achieving better future outcomes for clients and employees alike,” he said.

Looking ahead, Cook said the group would sharpen its focus on opportunities to grow through M&A in New South Wales and other states. “

Around three quarters of our business is in Queensland and the remaining quarter is New South Wales but we see plenty of opportunities in New South Wales and other states and we are keen to partner with other advice businesses to continue growing and serving more clients,” he said.

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Peter Burgess

The SMSF Association has lauded the Federal Government’s decision to fast track the implementation of a legacy pension amnesty.

SMSF Association CEO Peter Burgess says this is an early Christmas gift for over 17,000 SMSF legacy pension accounts that now have five years to commute their pension and take advantage of a flexible pathway to allocate associated reserve amounts.

“These newly registered regulations – Treasury Laws Amendment (Legacy Retirement Product Commutations and Reserves) Regulations 2024 – provide much-needed reform to retirees trapped in non-commutable legacy pensions, including legacy lifetime, life expectancy and market-linked income stream products.

“Considering the age of these superannuants, they now have a genuine opportunity to restructure their retirement savings effectively.”

Burgess says the decision to grant this amnesty is a tribute to the Association’s persistent lobbying on this issue over the past five years.

“These regulations represent a big win for the sector and the Association’s advocacy team, especially the decision to be make it a standalone policy priority and not be linked to other tax policies such as the proposed Division 296 tax.”

He says that while these regulations are a welcomed development, there is a lingering sense that some opportunities to further enhance the regulatory framework surrounding this measure may have been missed.

“In our submission on the draft regulations, we noted it was common practice for legacy pensions to cease rather than be commuted on the death of the primary beneficiary or on the completion of the payment term.

“We encouraged Treasury to consider the inclusion of an additional cap-free pathway to allow a pension reserve to be exited from the system where the pension recipient(s) has died.

“Unfortunately, this was not heeded so it appears an opportunity has been lost to quickly and efficiently eliminate these potentially large reserves.”

He adds that the Association also flagged the potential social security ramifications emanating from the regulatory changes.

“Notwithstanding industry’s recommendations for Treasury to work with the Department of Social Services to ensure these concerns were addressed, at this stage we’re not aware of any social security legislative instruments, or other supporting materials, that serve to alleviate any of these concerns.

“While we understand a legislative instrument to remove the social security ramifications is likely, without further clarification or developments on this front, concerns still linger that social security sensitive members may be negatively impacted by this recent development.”

These regulations, along with all other key legislative changes from 2024 impacting SMSFs, will be a feature of the SMSF Association National Conference 2025 next February. Held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from 19 – 21 February, attendees will hear the latest updates in depth from the experts.

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Peter Burgess

The SMSF Association says the framework outlined in the second tranche of the Government’s Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reform package lays the groundwork for reducing the cost and improving access to advice, but as is often the case, the devil will be in the detail.

The Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, announced the package yesterday, stating it would ensure more Australians would have access to quality and affordable financial advice.

SMSF Association CEO, Peter Burgess, said there can be no argument reforms are needed to reduce the cost of advice and to open up new channels of professional advice to support the 15,500 existing financial advisers servicing the community’s financial advice needs.

“We have consistently argued that these new channels are urgently needed to enable more individuals to access quality advice to improve both their financial and mental well-being.

“Meeting this need has become even more evident when the growing number of baby boomers entering retirement is considered – many of whom cannot currently afford to get advice.”

Burgess said that considering the Government’s focus on creating a new class of adviser to provide safe and simple advice, it remains a mystery to us why the role other professional advisers, such as accountants, could play was still being overlooked.

“It was our contention that the Quality of Advice Review neglected the significant role accountants can play in addressing the growing advice gap, and the Government is perpetuating this oversight.

“By giving accountants a defined advice role, it will further support consumers to access the advice they need when they want it from their choice of trusted adviser.”

He said new educational pathways were needed to not only ensure the sustainability of the financial planning sector, but to ensure the future financial advice needs of all Australians could be met.

“The success of this model will depend on ensuring that the education requirements for the new class of adviser truly provides a pathway to becoming a financial adviser.

“We welcome the opportunity for all AFS licensees to employ the ‘new class’ of adviser and support more individuals on their pathway into a rewarding and fulfilling career.”

He added that many consumers needed point in time advice, often driven by life events, so modernising the best interest duty provided certainty to the sector that they could meet this need by providing advice on a single topic or limited scope of advice.

Burgess said the professionalism that now characterised the advice sector was a credit to its practitioners, providing the foundation for the sector to now expand so that it could meet the advice needs of a growing number of Australians in an affordable way.

“The Association looks forward to working with the Government to ensure the right balance between opening up advice to more Australians is achieved without surrendering important consumer protections.”

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Peter Burgess

The self managed super fund (SMSF) sector has notched up a significant milestone following the release of the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) September 2024 quarter SMSF statistics which show total SMSFs assets have surpassed $1 trillion for the first time.

SMSF Association CEO Peter Burgess hailed the ATO’s quarterly statistics as a landmark achievement for the sector, noting that while the figures are estimates, they underscore the confidence Australians place in SMSFs. As at 30 September 2024, Australians have entrusted approximately $1.02 trillion of their retirement savings to SMSFs – a powerful testament to the value of “choice” and the benefits of SMSFs.

“SMSFs can provide the ultimate level of control and flexibility which in-turn empowers and encourages greater level of engagement.”

“This extra flexibility and control can manifest itself in many ways including investment flexibility, estate planning flexibility and the ability to structure the fund in a way which best suits the needs of fund members.”

“It’s always been the Association’s mantra that SMSFs are not for everyone. But for those individuals who want to take direct control of their retirement savings, whether in the accumulation or decumulation phase of superannuation, they have proved a very effective vehicle.

Burgess said the sector had thrived despite a long-running campaign that asserted SMSFs were costly, complicated, and delivered lower investment returns compared with their APRA-regulated counterparts.

“These were criticisms that the sector – and the Association – took extremely seriously, so it was gratifying when research commissioned by the SMSF Association showed that an SMSF with net assets of $200,000 can be competitive in terms of costs and investment returns compared with APRA funds.”

Burgess said the Association was proud of the sector’s remarkable evolution, noting the concept of small, member-controlled superannuation funds emerged in 1985 under the term ‘excluded funds’ before SMSFs were introduced in 1999 alongside a more comprehensive regulatory framework.

“Over nearly four decades we have seen the emergence of a dedicated cohort of advisers who have played a critical role in guiding SMSF members through their own unique superannuation journey. The fact that every inquiry into superannuation has given our sector a clean bill of health is testimony to the professionalism they bring when advising their clients.”

This significant milestone will be celebrated at the SMSF Association’s 2025 National Conference, being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from February 19 -21, where the theme, ‘Collaboration: Unleashing Collective Potential,’ will highlight the importance of working together to explore and shape what the future holds for the sector.

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Greg Cook

Leading financial planning firm, Eureka Whittaker Macnaught, has acquired Warren McHattan’s financial planning practice at Parramatta in Sydney’s greater west. Both businesses are licensed through Financial Wisdom Limited, and this adds a fourth office to the growing Eureka Whittaker Macnaught business.

Eureka Whittaker Macnaught Chief Executive, Greg Cook, said he is delighted with the acquisition. “Our strategic plan is called ‘EWM 4.0’. We have thought about the advice business we would design if we were a 2019 start-up and we are on schedule to evolve Eureka Whitaker Macnaught to that model by December 2020. This adds to other changes we have made, such as moving to flat client fees in 2016. We are looking forward to making our Parramatta office a part of all that.”

Eureka Whittaker Macnaught has an enviable reputation in the profession, evidenced by another ‘podium finish’ in the Financial Planning Association (FPA)’s 2018 Professional Practice of the Year awards.

“Our strong balance sheet allows us to make these acquisitions with little risk, and practice principals like Warren know our acquisition process will be very professional, their clients will be in great hands, and their legacy respected,” Mr Cook said.

Eureka Whittaker Macnaught looks at numerous acquisition opportunities and Mr Cook said there are plenty to consider given the current FASEA-based generational change. “Warren’s business is a great fit for us, and we believe we can roll out a wider value proposition to its clientele. Warren and I have known each other for 27 years. As with getting advice, it’s great to deal with someone you know and trust.”

Warren’s support staff will join Eureka Whittaker Macnaught and over the next 18 months Warren will be introducing clients to the advice team at Eureka Whittaker Macnaught. “At the end of that period, after more than 30 years in the profession, Warren is looking forward to enjoying an active, long and well-deserved retirement,” Mr Cook said. “As a Parramatta Eels fan, I’m extra excited – I can walk to my BankWest Stadium Eels games from that office.”

Eureka Whittaker Macnaught offers Australian consumers financial advice across a range of speciality areas for every stage of the life cycle, including investment strategies, aged care advice, SMSF services and life risk services, to people who are just starting out on the journey towards wealth accumulation, right through to people who are retired.

The group has 10  financial planners in a team of 25 employees. Now with offices in Brisbane, the NSW Central Coast, Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, the business functions as a financial services hub, with strong connections to mortgage brokers, accountants and lawyers.

“This approach allows the business to take care of the complete financial needs of all our clients, while also providing opportunities for business clients to partner with industry professionals in a business capacity,” Mr Cook said.

In 2013, Eureka merged with Whittaker Macnaught and in 2015 became the founding Australian firm of AZ Next Generation Advisory.

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Greg Cook

Eureka Financial Group (Eureka) will more than double in size following their successful acquisition of assets from the highly-respected Queensland financial planning group Whittaker Macnaught.

 As one of the biggest wealth management groups under the Commonwealth Bank-backed Financial Wisdom banner and winner of the 2011 Financial Wisdom Practice of the Year, Eureka will now be known as Eureka Whittaker Macnaught.

Greg Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Eureka Whittaker Macnaught, said, “Whittaker Macnaught is one of the most prestigious names in wealth management and we are delighted to continue their heritage by renaming our business.”

Whittaker Macnaught was one of the first dedicated financial planning businesses established in Queensland.

“We look forward to providing our existing and Whittaker Macnaught clients with excellent financial planning solutions under our new brand. This doubles the scale of our business and is a big step in our plans for a national footprint,” Mr Cook said.

Industry veteran and co-founder of Whittaker Macnaught, Noel Whittaker, has been appointed as Ambassador for Eureka Whittaker Macnaught and will attend upcoming events to mark the founding of the new business.

“I have worked closely with Greg Cook and Eureka for the past three years and I am very pleased to see that his respected firm is now taking care of Whittaker Macnaught clients,” Mr Whittaker said.  “I know the clients will be in good hands.”

 With a heritage dating back to 1993, Eureka is a leading, multi-award-winning practice operating under the Financial Wisdom Limited licence. The practice is privately owned by directors Greg Cook and Andrew Jones.

Whittaker Macnaught, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), has been Queensland’s trusted name in financial advice for over 30 years and was one of Australia’s longest running financial advice businesses, with planners operating in offices right across Queensland.

Mr Cook, who will be moving to Queensland to head up the new combined business said Eureka Whittaker Macnaught will be working hard to ensure a smooth transition for all concerned.

“We will be working with transition teams from Whittaker Macnaught, Financial Wisdom and CBA to help the process run smoothly,” he said.

Mr Cook said Eureka Whittaker Macnaught will be expanding its team to include some familiar Whittaker Macnaught faces who will add a great depth of experience, technical ability and client insight.

“We’ve already got a team on the ground in Queensland, most of whom were long term Whittaker Macnaught employees,” he said.“We are very much looking forward to working with them.”

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