Mr Heather has been with MGP and its predecessors for over 10 years and CEO since February 2014.

Following a period of rapid growth and expansion, with three corporate acquisitions, a broadening of the products and services that MGP offers and an increase in funds under management from $2 billion to $13 billion, Mr Heather leaves by mutual agreement as the Company embarks on its next stage of growth and development.

The Board has commenced a search for an appropriately qualified and experienced executive to fill the CEO role, complete the integration of acquired businesses and capitalise on the opportunities emerging in the financial services market.

Non-executive chairman Peter Brook said the Company had reviewed its market position and determined that the next growth phase required a fresh leadership approach and the energy to capture a range of market opportunities.

Mr Brook noted the contribution of Mr Heather to the Company and welcomed his continued tenure until his departure in May, working on key projects and assisting in a smooth transition.

The post Managed Accounts announces leadership changes appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Heather David

Moneysoft has partnered with managedaccounts.com.au to offer its personal money management solutions to all financial planning practices using the ASX-listed online platform provider.

Under the agreement, advisers receive preferential pricing on both Moneysoft Lite and Pro. Those tools enable them to provide additional client services, build greater engagement and unlock further efficiency.

Managing director of managedaccounts.com.au, David Heather, said that there is a natural alignment between the two companies with their shared focus on empowering advisers and their clients.

“The growth in managed accounts is part of an industry-wide shift to more transparent and efficient investing. Pairing our next generation platform with Moneysoft’s money management, cash flow and budgeting services creates additional value for advisers by giving them and their clients greater visibility of actual financial behaviour,” he said.

“Those direct insights help advisers have deeper conversations with clients and be more highly responsive to their changing needs. We think that will make Moneysoft very appealing to the businesses we work with, who really understand the advantage technology can provide.”

Advisers who use managed accounts already save an average of more than 14 hours each week from reduced administration and compliance tasks, according to recent research by Investment Trends.

Moneysoft head of technology and commercial operations, Jon Shaw, said that increasing automation across the information gathering stage offers further efficiency gains for advisers.

“Using automated data collection underpins a more robust ‘Know Your Client’ process while also enabling advisers to focus on developing strong personal relationships as a basis for providing advice. Those system efficiencies flow into reporting, analysis and marketing activities to help grow a scalable practice.”

The partnership builds on managedaccounts.com.au’s recent investments to upgrade its user interface and middle office software to provide better experiences for advisers and their clients.

managedaccounts.com.au now has more than $12.3 billion in funds under administration after its recent acquisition of platform and administration provider Linear Financial Holdings.

Moneysoft has developed a range of cloud-based digital money management tools that help financial advisers, mortgage brokers and super funds to build their clients’ and members’ wealth and achieve their personal goals. The Lite solution includes a financial health check and provides a starting point for developing healthy financial habits, while Moneysoft Pro offers a full-service solution.

Moneysoft solutions can be re-branded by advisers as part of their broader marketing and digital strategies. The Moneysoft client service and account management team will support managedaccounts.com.au users across the implementation and on-boarding process.

The post Moneysoft and managedaccounts.com.au join forces to help advisers drive efficiency and client engagement appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Heather David

Managed Accounts Holdings Limited (ASX: MGP or “Managed Accounts”) has revised the execution timetable for its merger with Linear Financial Holdings (“Linear”).

Chief Executive of Managed Accounts David Heather said completion of the binding transaction documents executed by Linear shareholders and final due diligence are expected on or around Friday 20 October, a MGP shareholder meeting will occur on 9 November and settlement of the MGP capital raising should occur around 14 November.

Mr Heather’s update comments were announced at the firm’s Annual General Meeting yesterday, at which Don Sharp and Peter Brook were re-elected as directors of MGP, to join Alex Hutchison on the MGP Board.

Mr Heather said that since the transaction was announced on the ASX, it had received significant interest from institutional investors. The $34 million capital raise will be used for the Linear transaction to extinguish $20.5 million in debt to third parties, fund $8 million in cash to Linear shareholders and provide $5.5 million for transaction costs and working capital for the combined entity.

“We are positioned well for the current shift in the landscape towards managed accounts from non-discretionary solutions such as wraps. Shifts such as these are a one in a 15 or 20-year event and present tremendous growth opportunities for the combined entity. We have received positive support from clients, providers and existing shareholders for the merger and the benefits the combined entity can offer to existing and future new clients,” Mr Heather said.

The post Managed Accounts firms timetable for Linear merger appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Heather David

Managed Accounts Holdings Limited (“Managed Accounts”) (ASX: MGP) is pleased to announce it has submitted a non-binding conditional proposal to undertake a merger with Linear Financial Holdings Pty Ltd (“Linear”) by acquiring 100% of the shares of Linear.

On completion of the merger, the combined entity will become a leader in the managed account, platform and non-unitised administrative sector in Australia, with funds under administration exceeding $11 billion.

Managed Accounts Executive Chairman Don Sharp said: “The proposed transaction represents the execution of the acquisition component of the company’s growth and development strategy as outlined in the most recent annual report and quarterly report”.

Sharp added; “The two businesses are largely complementary. As well as being a long standing provider of managed accounts, Linear has recently carved a niche in the stockbroking and institutional markets which complements Managed Accounts’ primary focus on the independent financial advisory market.”

In commenting on the future of the merged entity, David Heather, Managed Accounts Chief Executive Officer said: “We plan to draw on strengths of each existing business to enhance the other. The proposal involves bringing two lean and efficient organisations together which will use shared corporate, business development and relationship management resources to enhance existing client relationships and actively target growth across market segments. The complementary nature of the two businesses will be a major driver of growth and we expect the transaction to be significantly accretive for Managed Accounts shareholders post FY18.”

“Both firms have a track record of ‘the best of the best’ in terms of technology, which the merged entity will build upon. And with Linear being based in Melbourne and Managed Accounts in Sydney, this provides the merged entity with a footprint in the two largest markets in the country. Most importantly, there is symmetry in the two corporate cultures, with an alignment of values, outlook and aspirations”, Mr Heather said.

The merger proposal places an enterprise value of $42.5 million on Linear with consideration for Linear shareholders to include up to $8 million cash and a minimum of $14 million of MGP scrip to be issued at $0.33 per MGP share.

The post Managed Accounts proposed merger with Linear Financial appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Heather David

Managed Accounts Holdings Limited (managedacaccounts.com.au, ASX:MGP), one of Australia’s leading managed discretionary account (MDA) providers, has posted a normalised net profit before tax of approx. $1.47 million for the year to 30 June 2017.

Highlights for the 2017 financial year announced to the market include:

• 19.8% increase in normalised net profit before tax to approx. $1.47 million
• Funds under administration increased to over $2.1Billion – growth of 17.4%
• Company revenue up 25% over 2016/17
• Reinvestment into Distribution resources
• ASX Sponsorship and Settlement approval received
• Enhanced cash solution implemented

The result reflects continued recognition of the benefits of Managed Discretionary Accounts (MDAs) by independent financial advisers (IFAs), stockbrokers and investment managers and the group’s continued re-investment into new services and capabilities to meet current and future MDA user requirements, according to Chief Executive Officer, David Heather.

“We are very pleased with the latest results and remain firmly focused on delivering greater choice, transparency and functionality for the IFAs, stockbrokers and investment managers using or intending to use our broadening capability,” Mr Heather said.

“We are positioning our business for further growth by investing in new software that will transform the user experience for both advisers and clients, as well as provide additional scale and efficiencies in the MGP operational environment.”

The post Managed Accounts Holdings posts $1.47m NPBT appeared first on AdviserVoice.

David Heather

A new cloud-based solution announced yesterday by managedaccounts.com.au promises to transform the adviser and investor experience through a market leading intuitive front-end.

ASX listed managed discretionary account (MDA) provider, managedaccounts.com.au is partnering with specialist FinTech firm CapitalRoad to implement a new solution for its user interface and middle office requirements to replace its in-house developed and supported proprietary software.

Melbourne-based CapitalRoad is a specialist provider of integrated cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) for the financial services industry.

managedaccounts.com.au Chief Executive Officer David Heather said the new solution represented a significant investment which would have major benefits for advisory firms, wealth managers, advisers and their clients and is expected to be live across all clients from 30 September this year.

“This market-leading smart technology will transform the way advisers manage their business and communicate with their clients.

It will not only deliver better management reporting and simplify the presentation of data to their clients, the technology will also drive internal efficiencies within an advisers practice.

Our new mobile capability will help build end client engagement with its easy-to-use interface.

The CapitalRoad software will co-exist with the SS&C technology suite used to deliver the majority of our back office capability to present a best of breed FinTech solution to the market”, said Heather.

“The gap between financial services and technology has to be seamless if advisers and clients are to maximise their decision-making abilities and reach their goals.

A modern, clean design, when combined with powerful middle and front office improvements, is a proven way to improve adviser efficiency and bolster client engagement,” said CapitalRoad co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Marshall Stephen.

The post managedaccounts.com.au invests in platform upgrades to support advisers appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Toby Potter

The Institute of Managed Account Professionals (IMAP) has announced that it will be establishing a sub group to address the interests of MDA Providers as part of its broader representation of Managed Accounts.

IMAP’s FUM study in June 2016 showed that the MDA services exceeded $10bn and the initial results of an update as at 31 December 2016 shows this is likely to have grown significantly. Increasingly platforms are having to adapt to support this way of implementing advice services.

“MDA Providers – or Operators as they used to be known – are governed by different regulation to organisations offering managed accounts via a Product Disclosure Statement and tend to have more diversity in their business models. MDA Providers have expressed enthusiasm for a forum that would support their common interests such as complying with the new MDA regulations, ensuring ASIC understands their business models and encouraging wider understanding among advisers of the potential for MDA services” said Toby Potter, Chair of IMAP. “In addition, many MDA Providers would benefit by sharing experiences in operating their businesses by being able to chat with other business leaders who face similar challenges. Other topics which we intend to cover include how to engage with investment managers as sub advisers and the benefits platforms and brokers can offer MDA Providers.”

“The overall goal of the MDA Forum is to ensure that clients’ interests are best served”, he said.

The MDA Providers’ Forum will be an invitation only group available to leaders of businesses which have this AFSL authorisation. It will meet in Sydney and Melbourne initially up to 6 times a year but may extend to other centres following establishment. The group will have a speaker on a relevant topic followed by drinks and will commence in March with a Sydney meeting.

To develop the MDA Providers Forum IMAP has formed a Leadership Group consisting of the principals from a number of licensees who have the MDA authorisation. This group includes:

• David Heather – Managed Accounts
• George Karantzias – Alpha Securities
• Richard Nicholas – Peak Investment Partners
• Nick Revis – Elston Asset Management
• Brett Sanders – Philo Capital
• Glenn Woolley – Intrinsic Investment Management

The post IMAP announces MDA Providers’ Forum: “A community of interest that needs to be represented” appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Heather David

Listed managed discretionary account operator, Managed Accounts Holdings Limited (MGP) has released a detailed report on the potential impact of regulatory changes to the operation of managed accounts and how advisory firms can prepare for the future.

According to the report – released by MGP subsidiary managedaccounts.com.au and titled “The limited discretion clock is ticking” – many advisers and their clients will be affected by proposed changes to be announced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission this month including the potential removal of a No Action Letter, which some advisers have used as a basis to run discretionary portfolios on regulated platforms under what’s commonly referred to as a Limited MDA arrangement.

David Heather, MGP chief executive officer, said the potential removal of the no action letter would likely force advisers operating Limited MDAs to gain a MDA operator authorisation on their licence to continue their current approach or alternatively, work with an existing managed account provider to implement an arrangement that meets their requirements.

“It’s likely this change will have the greatest impact on the industry but whatever changes are announced and regardless of whether the industry agrees or not, every participant will need to comply with the new rules,” he said.

“Forward-thinking advisers are already making changes to ensure their business processes are efficient, sustainable and compliant, and we’ve seen a recent increase in inquiries from advisory firms keen to understand how we can partner with them to build and implement a customised MDA service, ahead of ASIC’s planned announcement.”

“The purpose of this report is to help advisers unpack the myriad of regulatory issues facing them and lay out their options.”

The report also identified a poor understanding of the rules around implementing retail super arrangements that use a managed account approach, potentially leading to advisers unknowingly acting beyond their authority.

The report stated: “In order for advisers to manage retail super money with discretion, they need to be appointed as an investment manager by the super fund’s trustee”.

“That means advisers currently managing retail super money under a limited MDA or MDA arrangement where they have not be appointed as an investment manager should be issuing a record of advice (RoA) for every portfolio change.”=

Mr Heather said an efficient, practical solution for advisory firms that wanted to compliantly manage retail super money was to partner with an experienced MDA operator with a retail super solution.

“Our goal is to partner with leading advisory firms to drive compliance and practice efficiency by eliminating the need to produce a RoA for every client, every time they rebalance a portfolio or make a change to the assets held in a client’s portfolio,” he said.

“Whether an advisory firm manages portfolios in-house or outsources portfolio management to professional managers, they have a range of choices across Investment and Superannuation, and across a broad range of assets.”

A free copy of the managedaccounts.com.au report, The limited discretion clock is ticking, is available here.

The post Confronting report warms advisers imminent regulatory changes will address the industry’s ‘sleeper’ issues. appeared first on AdviserVoice.

David Heather

Five boutique financial advisory firms have launched new managed discretionary account (MDA) services in partnership with Managed Accounts Holdings Limited (MGP), which will ultimately see the company’s funds under administration (FUA) surpass $2 billion.

Shine Financial Services, Array Financial Services, Mayneline Financial Services and Renouf & Partners Financial Planning, which are licensed by Cumulus Financial Group, and another Melbourne-based financial planning firm will collectively transition around $500 million from wrap platforms to new MDA services operated by MGP.

Damian Dunell, Cumulus director and Shine Financial Services principal, said the group was impressed by MGP’s ability to help them design, build and implement their own branded MDA service, tailored around Cumulus’ advice philosophy and client value proposition.

Cumulus’ MDA investment program and solution, branded Fore Invest, is managed in partnership with investment manager and stockbroker, Joseph Palmer & Sons.

“We’re already experiencing significant benefits but most importantly our clients can now enjoy direct ownership with the ability to look through their portfolios and access customised, professionally-managed diversified portfolios,” Dunell said.

“From an adviser’s perspective, portfolio management and administration is infinitely more efficient, allowing us to spend more time seeing clients and providing strategic advice rather than dealing with multiple platforms and getting bogged down in administration.”

According to David Heather, chief executive of Managed Accounts Holdings Limited, advisers are increasingly looking for a unique, non-conflicted solution that’s capable of supporting all managed investment structures including individually managed accounts, separately managed accounts and unified managed discretionary accounts.

“A growing number of licensees are discovering that traditional wrap platforms don’t deliver the level of customisation, flexibility and functionality that they require in order to provide the best portfolio outcome for their clients,” he said.

“Many want a comprehensive solution that allows them to build bespoke investment management solutions which take into account their clients’ individual circumstances and objectives while providing business stakeholders with an efficient outcome through all parts of the value chain.”

The addition of these quality advisory firms caps off a stellar year for MGP with a strong pipeline of new opportunities heading into 2016, Mr Heather said.

MGP has also appointed experienced consultant Rodney Lay as the group’s new head of product to drive innovation and further spearhead MGP’s new offerings to come to market.

Mr Lay joined MGP from research house Independent Investment Research (IIR). Previously he held senior positions at Standard & Poor’s and Aegis Equities Research.

The post New IFA deals to push MDA provider FUA to over $2B appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Heather David

Self-licensed advisory practices are driving the trend towards higher usage of Managed Discretionary Accounts (MDAs) with a further three licensees, representing over $400 million in funds under advice, ditching institutionally-owned wrap platforms to implement an MDA Service in partnership with Managed Accounts Holdings Limited (MGP) during the September quarter.

An additional ten boutique licensees are in the process of launching a MGP-backed MDA Service over coming months, which will lift the number of live Services by over 38 per cent to 46.

David Heather, MGP chief executive officer said the group had experienced record net inflows of $111 million during the September due to the combination of strong organic growth, acquisition transition and the addition of the newly-implemented MDA Services. He added that the group had kick started the December quarter with funds under administration rising to over $1.65 billion as at October 28 off the back of strong net inflows and improved equity market conditions.

“To complement existing client inflows, we continue to have a strong pipeline of new business opportunities with several having indicated they wish to move to commitment stage,” Heather said.

“The MDA compliance framework, our non-conflicted open architecture business model and the ability and appetite for firms to control their own portfolio management outcomes is resonating well with IFAs.”

MGP has also recruited highly experienced operations and project risk manager Tania De Vincentis in a relationship manager role.

Ms De Vincentis has over 20 years’ financial services experience including positions in custody, broking and portfolio administration. She has joined MGP from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management where she held a similar relationship manager role.

Mr Heather said Ms De Vincentis was a key addition to provide on the ground servicing and relationship management to MGP’s expanding IFA client-base nationally.

The Board of MGP has also declared a quarterly dividend payment of $0.002 per share payable in November 2015.

The post Strong MDA growth driven by IFA market appeared first on AdviserVoice.