Cameron Spittle

In a significant development for Australia’s financial advice landscape, Betashares has announced that it will merge its managed accounts division with InvestSense, forming a new business called Trellia Wealth Partners.

Upon completion of the merger, Trellia Wealth Partners will offer one of the most comprehensive managed account solutions in the Australian market, encompassing actively managed and indexbased portfolios, as well as fully bespoke investment portfolio design and implementation support.

With approx. $8 billion in funds under management and a strong growth trajectory, Trellia Wealth Partners will operate as a standalone business, backed by the strength and scale of the Betashares Financial Group.

A stronger, more comprehensive partner for advisers

Trellia Wealth Partners brings a powerful and diverse set of capabilities designed to support and empower advisers to deliver lasting value for their clients.

Trellia Wealth Partners will deliver a leading range of investment solutions across Betashares’ low cost, index-based model portfolios, InvestSense’s actively managed flagship portfolios, as well as fully bespoke portfolio solutions.

Trellia Wealth Partners will provide comprehensive business support services to enable advice firms to accelerate their growth strategies.

Going beyond traditional practice management, Trellia Wealth Partners will also provide technology and tools to enhance business efficiency and empower advice firms to deliver a greater client experience. In addition, clients will have access to business strategy consulting, organic growth and acquisition support, as well as best in class portfolio insights, reporting, client engagement content and commentary, which financial advisers can leverage to deliver better outcomes for their clients.

InvestSense Directors Jonathan Tolub, Jonathan Ramsay, Fil Andronaco and Paul Carrington will serve as Partners and have all made a long-term commitment to the business.

Backed by aligned philosophies and a shared purpose

The partnership underlying Trellia Wealth Partners is founded on a shared vision of the key trends reshaping the financial services industry and an unwavering conviction in the positive outlook for Australia’s financial adviser community.

Many of these powerful trends are not just confined to Australia but are playing out globally. These themes include the structural demand for financial advice, the power of managed accounts for both advisers and their clients, the rise of ETFs, the significant growth of private market opportunities, as well as the shift from accumulation to pension phase for the superannuation sector.

Betashares Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alex Vynokur, said the backdrop for Australia’s financial advice community is very conducive to growth over the coming years, as more people seek advice to make better financial decisions.

“In this climate, Trellia Wealth Partners represents a purpose-built offering that enables financial advisers to leverage innovation, scale, and international best practice to deliver more value to their clients, and assist their practices to grow into the future. We will build on the pedigree, experience and track record in service of Australia’s financial advisers and their clients,” Mr Vynokur said.

Continuity and additional capability

Trellia Wealth Partners will maintain full investment independence, continuing to apply the proven investment philosophies and processes that clients are accustomed to. To that end, there will be no change to the management or service of existing client portfolios unless enhancements with demonstrable adviser or investor benefits are available or appropriate.

“We are building on the strong foundation we have laid over the past decade,” said Jonathan Tolub, incoming Partner at Trellia Wealth Partners.

“Our flagship and custom-built portfolio solutions have helped advice practices grow for over a decade. Now, we are combining that agility with the scale, support, and world class infrastructure needed to deliver even more value to our clients,” Mr Tolub said.

“From the beginning, it was clear that this partnership was more than complementary – it was aligned in purpose. We bring different strengths, but we share a belief in building client-centric, advicealigned solutions,” Mr Tolub continued.

“Trellia Wealth Partners allows us to provide advisers the advantage of leading investment solutions, best in class support capabilities and depth in expertise, to assist our clients in their growth journeys,” Mr Tolub concluded.

Trellia Wealth Partners will bring the client, operations and advice solutions teams together for a seamless client experience, whilst the investment teams will retain their independence, integrity and continuity for clients.

A growing market and a growing need for scale and service

Managed accounts are currently one of the fastest-growing areas in Australian financial services. According to the Institute of Managed Account Professionals (IMAP), the sector reached $232.77 billion in assets as of 31 December 2024 – a nearly 50% increase from the previous year.

Trellia Wealth Partners expects the strong rate of growth in the managed accounts industry to continue over the next decade and beyond.

A reflection of Betashares’ commitment to serve the needs of Australian financial advisers

The launch of Trellia Wealth Partners reflects Betashares’ ongoing commitment to supporting the financial advice profession with innovative, cost-effective, market leading solutions.

Betashares recently reached $50 billion in assets following a period of strong organic growth. It also follows last year’s strategic investment from Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, which is aligned with Betashares’ long-term strategy of continuing to build a diversified financial services business, with a strong focus on delivering transparent, costeffective investment products, portfolio solutions, services, technologies and financial education.

Betashares’ Mr Alex Vynokur continued by saying that joining forces with InvestSense to transform the managed accounts landscape will help accelerate work toward the broader goal of helping Australians build long term wealth.

“For nearly 15 years, we have partnered with Australia’s financial advisers through the provision of a range of high-quality products and services, including ETFs, managed accounts and additional services such as business support. We consistently strive to be a trusted partner for Australian financial advisers, aiming to deliver not only investment excellence but also support to our clients in growing their businesses, achieve business efficiencies and deliver exceptional outcomes for their clients. Today’s announcement is a reflection of our commitment toward this goal.

“Financial advisers play an integral role in helping many Australians progress toward their financial goals. Trellia Wealth Partners brings together our unique strengths and a shared purpose – to support advisers through innovation, partnership, and best-in-class investment thinking. This is not just about combining capability, it’s about accelerating our impact,” Mr Vynokur concluded.

The transaction facilitating creation of Trellia Wealth Partners is expected to complete in Q3 2025.

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Cameron Spittle

Investment Trends has released its 2025 Adviser Product and Marketing Needs Report, providing an in-depth analysis of how Australian financial advisers select investment products, construct portfolios, and engage with fund managers. The report examines evolving preferences, decision drivers and communication needs across advice practices.  

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The latest report reveals that the shift toward larger advice practices is accelerating. Firms are expanding not only in adviser headcount but also by bringing in-house specialists such as accountants and lawyers to broaden their services and better address growing client needs.

“31% of practices now have more than five advisers, and these larger firms hold on average $15 million more in funds under advice per adviser compared to smaller practices,” said Cameron Spittle, Director at Investment Trends. “Despite their larger footprint, efficiency remains a challenge. Smaller practices continue to grapple with compliance burdens and regulatory uncertainty, while larger practices are more focused on resourcing and technology integration to scale effectively.”

The report shows that profitability continues to improve, with more than half of financial advisers (52%) reporting a rise in practice earnings, while just 11% recorded a decline, the lowest level in a decade. Among the most profitable practices, success is underpinned by three key levers: higher ongoing fees, leaner cost structures, and greater use of managed accounts to deliver scale and consistency.

“Efficient advice delivery models and disciplined pricing are increasingly separating high performers from the pack,” said Spittle. “We are seeing a strong focus on operational efficiency that is driving down both operating and advice production costs.”

The research highlights key trends in both advice fees and cost to serve. “Ongoing advice fees are significantly higher among the top 20% of practices, far outpacing the average with ‘highly profitable’ advisers charging nearly double the ongoing fees of their peers. When combined with lean, tightly managed cost-to-serve models, these higher fees are translating into substantially stronger margins.”

The results also show that satisfaction with licensees has rebounded, with Net Promoter Scores rising from +1% in 2024 to +11% in 2025. At the same time, advisers continue to rely heavily on licensee support. Self-licensed firms most often outsource compliance and audit functions, while licensed advisers lean more on their licensee for paraplanning. Across both groups, demand for high-quality support remains strong, spanning technical assistance, advice enablement, and compliance.

The NPS rebound is encouraging, but it’s not the full story,” added Spittle. “Advisers are still calling for genuine support, and current outsourcing patterns reflect this. Licensees that adapt to these shifting needs will be best positioned to strengthen advocacy and retention.”

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Advisers are no longer spreading flows across multiple platforms.

Investment Trends has released the 22^nd edition of its 2025 Adviser Technology Needs Report, delivering a comprehensive view of how Australian financial advisers engage with investment platforms and planning software. The study explores the drivers and barriers shaping platform selection, satisfaction and usage, while uncovering perceived strengths, weaknesses and unmet needs across the market.

The latest report reveals a decisive trend toward platform consolidation. Advisers now use an average of just 2.0 platforms, down from 2.2 in 2024, and are funnelling a growing share of new business into a single provider. In 2025, 71% of new client inflows are directed to the adviser’s primary platform, up from 65% in 2022, reflecting advisers’ focus on simplicity, efficiency, and deeper integration.

“Advisers are no longer spreading flows across multiple platforms. They’re backing the ones that meet their expectations and can facilitate their preferred investment philosophy,” said Cameron Spittle, Director at Investment Trends. “This consolidation is deliberate and accelerating. For providers, retaining primary status is no longer about brand, it’s about delivering real usability, functionality and value.”

The report also highlights a growing divergence in adviser technology strategies. One in four advisers (23%) now prefer a single, end-to-end solution, up from 18% last year, while nearly the same proportion (22%) favour open architecture with seamless integration. However, a significant 36% remain agnostic, and another 9% are unsure of their ideal setup.

“Technology spend has climbed to $38,000 per practice and it is more important than ever for platforms to be able to integrate seamlessly,” said Spittle. “Regardless of whether advisers prefer a fully integrated solution or best-of-breed technology stack.”

The report also shows that platform-based AI use cases and integration remain limited, but adviser demand for more sophisticated tools is growing. 61% of advisers now use AI, mostly via third-party solutions for simple tasks, but are increasingly seeking embedded, workflow-aligned tools to support more complex functions such as strategy development (62%) and meeting preparation (61%).

“AI has moved beyond the hype, advisers are engaging with it, and they’re signalling what they want next,” said Spittle. “Interestingly, when asked about their preferred access points for AI, advisers favour integration within their advice software, especially for client-facing and strategic tasks.”

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