John McMurdo, Group Chief Executive Officer said: “I am delighted to announce three key appointments to our Group, all designed to: strengthen our advice offering and support our advisers to build great outcomes for their clients. At a time where many in our sector are questioning their advice model, we are committed to promoting the value of advice and to support our advisers. I believe we have a real opportunity to take a leadership role within the industry. Marnie Page has joined the Group as Head of Adviser Experience, Colin Lewis as Head of Technical Services and Amanda Wilson as Head of Advice and Licensee Compliance”

Head of Adviser Experience

As the number of our advice services and offerings grow, it is extremely important to us that advisers can access the right services in an efficient and helpful manner.  For this purpose, we have created this new role.  Based in Sydney, Marnie’s role will be to support the adviser experience from beginning to end, ensuring the services accessed by advisers are the ones that provide the best value.

Marnie’s 25+ years of experience include Client & Adviser Services Manager roles with AM Corporation, consulting to boutique AFS Licensees at Associated Advisory Practices (AAP) and more recently, National Key Accounts Manager with Adviser Logic.  She holds a Diploma in Business Management (AIM) a Diploma of Financial Planning and loves sharing from her experiences.   Marnie will always welcome input that will further strengthen the Adviser experience.

Head of Technical Services

Colin Lewis has joined the team in the role of Head of Technical Services. Colin has specialised in technical advice since 1987, holding senior regulatory, consulting and technical roles within our sector. He holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Diploma of Superannuation Management from Macquarie University.  He has been an SMSF specialist adviser for the SMSF Association since 2006 and is a founding member of the ASFA 300 (SMSFs) unit committee.  Prior to joining us, Colin worked at IPAC Securities and Perpetual Private Clients.  Colin’s role will be to support advisers from a technical viewpoint, keeping advisers updated with technical strategies. Colin is also an experienced presenter and frequently called upon for comment on financial planning matters in the media.  He is currently a regular contributor in the Australian Financial Review.

Head of Advice and Licensee Compliance

Amanda Wilson will lead the Advice Compliance team.  Amanda has a legal qualification and has been working in financial services compliance for the past 20 years. Amanda’s experience has been gained in financial services companies in Australia and the UK encompassing financial planning, stockbroking and insurance.  Amanda started her compliance career with Colonial and has also worked at Suncorp and most recently with Macquarie Bank.

John McMurdo said: “Fitzpatricks has been built on the core tenets of a professional services firm.  Part of that commitment is to support our advisers with the highest calibre technical, professional standards and business support”.

Fitzpatricks continues to grow strongly as the flight from institutionally sales based approaches to advice professionalisation plays out.

“These key appointments further under-line our commitment to support our community of advisers and I know these three experienced individuals will provide a significant contribution in supporting our advice business.”

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If you’re in a position to boost your superannuation balance, the clock is ticking. The good news is there’s still time to top up your super before the new rules come in, but you need to act quickly! To help ensure you’re ready, Perpetual Private have created a checklist to summarise the key points to consider.

1. Have you considered maximising your after-tax contributions?

After-tax contributions are being cut from $180k pa to $100k pa and you’ll only be able to make them if your total super is less than $1.6 million.  You may be eligible to fast track up to $540k of contributions (even if your super balance is, or will be, more than $1.6 million), if you act before 1 July 2017.

2. Are you maximising your before-tax contributions before they are cut?

Before-tax contributions are being cut from $30-35k pa to $25k pa from 1 July 2017.

3. If you have more than $1.6 million in your pension account(s), what will you do with the excess?

Amounts in excess of $1.6 million in pension phase must be commuted back into accumulation phase or out of the super system entirely.

4. Will your transition to retirement (TtR) income work for you from 1 July?

Fund earnings and capital growth in TtR income streams will no longer be tax-free. Unless you need the pension income, or can retire and convert it to a normal account-based pension, it may be in your interests to roll your TtR income stream back to super.

5. Will the tax increase on concessional contributions affect you?

If your income is between $250-300k, the tax you pay on concessional contributions (before tax) doubles from 1 July 2017.

6. Do you run your own SMSF and want to take advantage of capital gains tax (CGT) relief?

To take advantage of CGT relief, certain trustee decisions and actions must be taken before 1 July 2017.

7. Do the super changes mean you need to review your estate plans?

Your super pension arrangements and death benefit nominations may need to be reviewed to ensure that as much as possible can remain in the concessionally taxed superannuation environment upon the death of a partner.

Still unsure? Don’t get caught out – seek financial advice and act before 30 June.

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Mr Lewis has a strong track record of delivering and implementing strategies for high net worth investors having had more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry. He will join Perpetual Private on Monday 17 August from ipac securities where he has spent the past 14 years as Head of Technical Services.

Mr Lewis will be responsible for leading the Strategic Advice team which delivers training and technical support to Perpetual Private’s team of nearly 50 advisers, continuously improving their technical competencies. This includes providing expert advice across tax, superannuation, insurance, succession planning, aged care, asset protection, estate planning and social security legislation, for the benefit of Perpetual Private’s advised clients.

Mr Lewis will also work closely with Perpetual Private’s network of alliance partners in the accounting and legal sectors, helping to develop their knowledge and understanding of the suite of strategic advice that Perpetual Private offers.

Perpetual Private’s General Manager of Advice Delivery, Marion Enander, said Mr Lewis’ appointment will further strengthen Perpetual’s delivery of quality advice to its client base.

“Colin is well-regarded in the industry and has extensive experience in delivering strategic advice. As a strong, technical expert, he will play an important role in Perpetual’s ongoing delivery of advice excellence by our advisers and the alliance partners we work with,” Ms Enander said.

“The Strategic Advice team manages complex topics and Colin’s ability to simplify these in an engaging way will be a real advantage for our advisers, high net worth clients and alliance partners.

“Delivering high quality advice is a key differentiator for Perpetual Private and Colin’s arrival will further strengthen our advice delivery.”

Mr Lewis has specialised in technical advice since 1987, holding senior regulatory, consulting and technical roles in the financial services industry. He holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Diploma of Superannuation Management from Macquarie University. He has been an SMSF specialist adviser for the SMSF Association since 2006 and is a founding member of the ASFA 300 (SMSFs) unit committee.

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