Mr Keary will be based in Sydney and have responsibility for the growth of Ignition in Asia, in particular China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

He has over 30 years’ experience with blue chip international companies in both Europe and Asia.  Mr Keary was most recently managing director Asia Pacific of AMP Capital, based in Tokyo.  He has also worked at Westpac where he was executive director, head of distribution & sales, equities and retail markets, and at Commonwealth Bank and HSBC.

Mr Keary is currently undertaking a PHD part time with the research being on “How will the financial planning industry need to adapt to changing customer needs and circumstances” at Western Sydney University.

Mike Giles, CEO of Ignition Advice, said that expanding into the Asian market is the next step in Ignition’s growth strategy.

“We are already well-established in UK and Europe, and have our base in Australia so it therefore makes sense to continue our growth in the Asian financial advice market.

“There are significant opportunities in countries such as China and Japan to utilise technology to expand the reach of financial advice.  Craig’s substantial experience in the Asian market will be extremely valuable to our growth plans, not least his understanding of the different cultures and the ability to lead teams across multiple jurisdictions,” Mr Giles said.

Mr Keary said that, having recently spent almost four years living and working in Asia, there are distinct opportunities for Australian companies doing business in Asia.

“Australia’s robust regulatory regime, the breadth and depth of its financial services industry through the superannuation system, and its growing reputation in technological innovation, means Australian companies are viewed very favourably in Asia.

“I am looking forward to helping Ignition bring its expertise and experience to the Asian market, particularly as it offers a solution that helps enhance the financial wellbeing of investors – something I am particularly passionate about,” Mr Keary said.

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Mark Fordree

Technology is poised to play a crucial role in helping more Australians access effective, safe and affordable financial advice, at a time when the number of advisers is declining, says Mike Giles, co-founder and CEO of Ignition Advice.

“There is increasing appreciation that technology can be an extremely valuable tool in the financial advice industry.  Important lessons have been learnt from the mistakes made in the past, including the limitations of roboadvice and the need for human interaction,” Mr Giles says.

“On top of this, we’ve seen the take-up and penetration of technology grow exponentially, by people who would never have considered using virtual or online services before, due to the lockdowns and ‘working from home’ requirements over the past 12 months.

“As a result of these developments, we believe the opportunity for technology to change the way that advisers deliver advice, and the way that Australians access it, has never been greater, and at a time when the need for Australians to get advice has never been more important.”

Mr Giles points out that the growing role of technology does not eliminate or even reduce the need for financial advisers.

“Digital advice has evolved from the days when it was envisaged that roboadvice could be a standalone online offering. Now there is recognition that human interaction and intelligence needs to be a vital component of the advice offering.”

And overwhelmingly, he says, advice also needs to be easy to access and affordable.

“Properly developed and implemented, technology can help advisers deliver compliant, scalable and cost-effective advice to more clients, enabling them make the best financial decisions for their future.

“We’ve already experienced this in Europe amongst our enterprise clients, where there is strong evidence of increased engagement with their own customers who are adopting digital advice solutions,” Mr Giles said.

Mark Fordree, co-founder and director at Ignition Advice, says technology will also play an important part in allowing other institutions, such as insurance companies and superannuation funds, to provide simple or single-issue advice to customers.

“Regulatory changes have resulted in major players walking away from vertically integrated models,  ultimately leaving millions of customers without easy access to advice.  At the same time, government and regulators are talking about the need to lower the cost of advice and to make it easier, and safer, for people to access.”

He says there is scope for other institutions to fill this gap, and to deliver appropriate simple advice in a safe and flexible manner.

“But this evolution in the advice offering will not be at the expense of existing financial advisers. Rather, the future is one where digital technology will be a complementary offering to a market that still sees advice as something that is too expensive or only for the very wealthy.

“Indeed regulators such as ASIC have indicated that they believe single-issue advice can help close the advice gap, and in this environment, it is inevitable that technology will provide the missing piece of the advice puzzle,” Mr Fordree says.

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(L to R): Mark Fordree and Mike Giles

Fintech Ignition Advice continue their growth with a move into the UK market establishing new teams in London and Edinburgh.

Terry Donohoe, CEO Europe, Ignition Advice says, “We are delighted to bring our class leading digital advice platform to the UK. By bringing advisers and their clients together on the one advice platform, we enable our partners, financial institutions, to truly scale their advice propositions. With rapid implementation times and great user experiences, the Ignition Advice platform provides the flexibility demanded by financial institutions.”

The firm first gained a presence in Europe in Dublin in 2017. Mike Giles, Cofounder and CEO says, “Ignition Advice is well experienced in operating within local regulations, including the pre and post trade transparency requirements of MiFID and the consumer protection standards for insurance firms under IDD. As part of the move into the UK, we are further localising all products for the UK market, over layering UK FCA regulatory standards to meet the needs of British clients.”

David Hempson joins the company as its new Business Development Director UK where he will launch and lead Ignition’s sales effort in the UK. With twenty years of experience in financial services sales, including roles at EValue and FE FundInfo, Hempson brings a deep understanding of the investment and wealth sectors and a passion for digital financial advice.

David Hempson, Business Development Director UK, Ignition Advice says, “Ignition’s proven digital advice technology and the strong appetite from UK financial institutions for customer first digital engagement advice solutions make an exciting combination. We look forward to bringing the UK market live digital advice solutions for insurance, pensions and wealth in 2021. Our simple hybrid technology integrates seamlessly with adviser-led and adviser-assisted customer experiences. The challenges of 2020 have accelerated the need for digital solutions and Ignition Advice is perfectly positioned to help.”

Ignition Advice teams continue to expand globally, with strong hires in both the Dublin and Sydney offices, supporting the UK expansion and servicing new client acquisition.

Mark Fordree, Cofounder of Ignition Advice commented, “Ignition’s highly flexible platform is able to serve the needs of a broad spectrum of financial institutions. Post Brexit, the UK is establishing a strong lead in fintech and digital financial services, and we are pleased to enter the market at this time. Ignition continues to hire leading technologists to our global team to support our growing client base.”

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Advice board of directors, (L to R): Peter Meurer, Mark Fordree, Russell Scrimshaw and Mike Giles.

Ignition Advice has announced that Russell Scrimshaw has accepted the roles of Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and Non-Executive Director. Scrimshaw is an experienced senior executive and company director, and a valuable addition to the growing firm.

On joining the Board of Ignition, Russell Scrimshaw, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and Non-Executive Director, said, “I am very excited to be a part of what I expect will be a major international software and services company in the rapidly expanding financial services and advice sector. Clearly, Ignition software is world class and has already generated several prestigious sales in Europe and the UK, as well as in Australia.”

Peter Meurer, Chairman of the Ignition Board of Directors said, “We are delighted to welcome Russell Scrimshaw to Ignition Advice. He is one of Australia’s leading financial services experts. An appointment of this calibre will greatly assist Ignition as we continue to expand through partnerships with leading global institutions in 2021.”

In his recent career Scrimshaw has been Deputy CEO of Fortescue Metals Group and Chairman of UK listed Sirius Minerals PLC (acquired by Anglo American earlier this year). He is Chairman of the Garvan Foundation and Non-Executive Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

During his earlier corporate executive career Scrimshaw was at various times responsible for Information Technology and Operations in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Director of Marketing at Optus Communications, Vice President of Sales and Service in the US for American computer Company Amdahl, and a senior executive in IBM Australia.

The appointment follows Ignition’s successful Series B capital raising with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in 2020. Proceeds from the capital raising will be used to support business development and product research, ensuring that Ignition’s technology solutions remain at the forefront of global innovation.

Additional key 2021 hires

Ignition Advice continues to augment their global team with an aggressive recruitment strategy, also announcing Robert Coulter as Business Development Lead, APAC and David Hempson as Business Development Director, UK.

Robert Coulter joins the Sydney office to lead Ignition’s APAC distribution partnerships. Coulter brings experience with top tier firms including AMP, ING, BT Financial Group, MLC Australia and Asgard. David Hempson has a mandate to launch and lead Ignition’s new UK business. He has twenty years experience in financial services sales with firms including EValue and FE FundInfo, and a deep understanding of the investment and wealth sectors.

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Manish Prasad

Ignition Advice continues its strong growth strategy, announcing a global partnership with one of the world’s leading financial services and digital technology providers, Avaloq. Ignition is proud to be the first Australian fintech to be admitted to the Avaloq.one Ecosystem.

Manish Prasad, CEO of Ignition Advice says, “Ignition’s accelerated growth comes from a focus on strategic partnerships. With our platform complete and validated, strong distribution partnerships will allow us to quickly scale our enterprise client base. We are delighted to partner with Avaloq to bring our solutions to their global network of clients.”

The Avaloq banking suite provides core banking software solutions to more than 150 of the world’s financial institutions, in more than 30 countries, with over USD 4 trillion in assets managed with its software. Avaloq clients include Barclays, HSBC, Societe Generale SA, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Crestone Capital Advisors LLC, Maybank, LGT and Pictet. Through Avaloq’s extensive network, Ignition solutions can be offered to more than 150 target institutions.

Founded in Switzerland in 1985, Avaloq first launched a core banking solution almost thirty years ago. They pioneered Software as a Service (SaaS) and business process as a service (BPaaS) solutions for banks and wealth managers.

Their extensive third party marketplace Avaloq.one Ecosystem leads a new era of open banking, seamlessly connecting approximately 150 financial institutions with more than 120 innovative fintech solutions globally, allowing collaboration and rapid integration.

Terry Donohoe, COO of Ignition Advice says, “The Avaloq credo of complex problems, simple solutions and delivering live customer benefits in months not years is a perfect fit for Ignition. Our proven bank grade solutions are ready to implement, allowing clients to provide better service to their customers with go live in as little as 90 days.”

In 2020 Ignition has developed a strong distribution through partnership strategy and also recently became a member of the Envizage partner ecosystem. Envizage is a UK based holistic analytics platform that services enterprise clients including banks, insurance firms and asset managers. The partnership will allow Ignition and Envizage to bring digital engagement, goals optimisation, personal financial advice and investment, insurance and retirement product fulfilment to the global market.

Founded in 2014 by Mark Fordree and Mike Giles, Ignition is a global leader in digital advice technology, with unique capabilities to deliver advice across investment, retirement and insurance.

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Michael Topper

AdviceInnovation, the online hub providing innovative solutions for Australian financial advice businesses, has welcomed Advice Connect, creators of the advice client communication App, Client Wire, to the group.

Advice Connect CEO, Mike Giles, says Client Wire gives advisers the ability to engage clients via their own branded mobile App. “Client Wire facilitates secure, private messaging between the adviser’s team and clients, enabling them to easily and securely share documents. This means both the adviser and client will always be able to instantly view a full history of documents from any device.”

Mr Giles says the App also enables advisers to deliver a news-feed of relevant articles gathered from around the web. “Providing clients with educational material can be a really useful way to maintain long-standing relationships, especially when delivered in a way which is easy for them to access – i.e. on their smart phones,” he says. “We expect this function of the App to challenge traditional email and newsletter campaigns head-on because it is quick, easy and inexpensive.”

Client Wire starts at $50 per month and includes a branded mobile, tablet and web App; a news feed, client and team messaging service, email newsletters, and document sharing ability.

Mr Giles says in a fee-for-service world, the App allows advisers to demonstrate real value to clients. “Mobile technology is the next place for advisers to play if they want to take their web-based relationship maintenance to the next level.”

AdviceInnovation director Michael Topper says AdviceInnovation is excited to welcome Advice Connect to the hub. “We are seeing so many wonderful opportunities for advisers popping up, and we are lucky to be able to recommend and work with such reputable resources, like Client Wire. We are continually amazed at the new innovative solutions available for advisers, and can see the benefits of all working in a group to market these to advisers – they want to know about solutions like this.

AdviceInnovation ensures that some of the industry’s most innovative products and services will no longer be well-kept secrets and as the service grows the hub will become a central source for advisers to gain access to them all in one place.

Advice Connect joins other AdviceInnovation members AstuteWheel, 64 Media, Now Sorted!, Complete Client Connection, The Social Adviser and innergi.

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