Argyle has contracted and partnered with My Dealer Services to undertake the AFSL compliance reviews.

Speaking at the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) national conference in Hobart Tasmania, Executive Director Peter Johnston announced the launch of a compliance service for the Association’s membership of over 90 independently owned AFSL holders.

Commenting on the announcement, Peter Johnston confirmed Managing Principal Peter Bobbin from Argyle (part of the Rockwell Olivier national legal group) has been given the responsibility of providing the AFSL review service for AIOFP.

Argyle has contracted and partnered with My Dealer Services Pty Ltd (MDS) to undertake the AFSL compliance reviews under an exclusive arrangement, whilst practice appraisals is the responsibility of Frank Smith’s Adviser Compliance Services.

“The selection of MDS to undertake the task of ensuring AIOFP’s members AFSL requirements are in order was an easy choice as their industry reputation has been built on the successful processing of over 100 License applications for advisers and dealer groups,” said Peter Bobbin.

MDS was founded as a specialist support service provider for advisers seeking their own AFSL and the company comprises a senior management team of experienced financial services professionals with extensive and personal industry sector insight.

The ‘hands on’ expertise is reflected in MDS’s 100% success rate in supporting advisers to achieve their AFSL goals.

Supporting Peter Bobbin’s decision to utilise the expertise and services of MDS, Peter Johnston said he was confident that AIOFP’s members will appreciate the benefits that will be delivered through the comprehensive AFSL review offering.

In addition, Johnston says that any potential issues will be identified and remedied, resulting in a complete package for not only the licensee, but for any other interested parties such as ASIC or prospective buyers.

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MDS & Libertas offer tools to build it yourself.

My Dealer Services Pty Ltd (MDS) Chairman Don Wiggins has announced that the specialist support service provider for advisers seeking their own Australia Financial Services Licence (AFSL) has teamed together with Libertas Solutions Pty Ltd (Libertas) in a strategic partnership to address growing demand by advisers to operate under their own licence, not only as an individual, but now also as a group.

Don Wiggins also confirmed that the MDS – Libertas strategic partnership has achieved their first success by setting up and providing the back office infrastructure for a group of 20 advisory practices that came together to establish their own dealer group.

Following the success of its first licence offering, Libertas Managing Director Mark Euvrard confirmed that plans were well advanced to launch a new offering in early October.

“The vision of Libertas is to allow advisers with similar interests and marketplace offering to join forces and operate under a dealer group that is specifically focused on their very unique needs and requirements”, said Euvrard.

“At the same time, they are able to outsource the dealer group services to an industry professional thus allowing the advisers to focus on their clients and related business activities”.

The benefits of the Libertas small focussed dealer group approach versus the larger option are significant added Euvrard sighting low PI excess and costs, quality independent research, ongoing CPD offering, commission with Fee Disclosure Statement capabilities and strategy focussed PD days.

All these positives combine to make the independent AFSL offering by MDS and Libertas quite compelling.

Supporting the Libertas experience, Don Wiggins said that the number of enquiries from advisers wishing to set up their own licence has continued unabated all year and he expects that this will continue into the foreseeable future. This new group offering gives advisers a new option in the independent AFSL space.

“The driving force behind the interest in MDS and Libertas is the demand from advisers seeking a viable cost effective alternative that provides them with independence and control over their destiny whilst operating within a fully compliant team / collegiate environment”.

“The MDS – Libertas AFSL facility has been developed so that any group of individual advisers can move right in without the wait normally associated with starting a dealer group from scratch”, concluded Don Wiggins.

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Increase in dealers opting to operate under their own licence.

My Dealer Services Pty Ltd (MDS) Chairman Don Wiggins has announced that the specialist support service provider for advisers seeking their own Australia Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is experiencing a significant increase in demand by practice owners opting to operate under their own licence.

Commenting on the escalated activity being addressed by MDS, Don Wiggins said there were many and diverse factors influencing advisers and certainly greater flexibility, independence and dealer group dissatisfaction featured prominently – and in doing so, reflecting many of the results in CoreData’s recent research.

“The CoreData findings that 23.3% of advises expect to switch licensees in the next 12 months with 14.3% intending to take out their own AFSL is being borne out right now and the industry can expect this trend to continue into the foreseeable future”, said Wiggins.

Over the past four years, MDS has assisted in obtaining more than 50 AFSL’s for advisers with the most dramatic increase in activity recorded in the last six months. MDS boasts a senior management team of experienced financial services professionals with extensive and personal industry sector insight. This ‘hands on’ expertise is reflected in the organisation’s 100% success rate to support advisers AFSL endeavours.

Don Wiggins continued, “The MDS marketplace offering has been developed as a means of providing specialist services to assist and support advisers to acquire their own AFSL in a practical cost effective manner. In addition, MDS assists licensees in their compliance obligations, training and adherence to ongoing regulatory requirements”.

“Another reason for the MDS’s success is the flexibility of its services that can be personalised to the individual needs of advisers and an impressive track record and industry reputation, has helped the company grow to the point today where it oversees everything for the entire back office to compliance needs only, for in excess of 20 AFSL holders”.

MDS expects that once FoFA is bedded down; and the realisation that it is manageable could provide the motivation for advisers to part from with their often rigid licensees, and provide advice under an AFSL that is more appropriate to the needs of their clients. Especially if advisers outsource the ‘back office’ to a reliable and experienced business which in turn will allow them to put most of their efforts into servicing clients and not on the licence management.

“The convenience of controlling one’s own destiny, but leaving the back office to others at a cost usually far less than one that is currently required to be paid to the traditional dealer, is a compelling argument to take out one’s own AFSL”, concluded Don Wiggins.

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MDS Chairman, Don Wiggins said “We now have a complete offering with senior experience in both compliance and licensee services.”

“We can manage the process from getting an AFSL, to managing the ongoing compliance requirements, thus letting the advisor focus on his clients and run the practice in a practical and cost effective manner.”

Mark Euvrard has been a member of the Institute of Australian Chartered Accountants since 1980 and is an Accredited Financial Planning Specialist with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. He has an extensive background in managing small-to-medium sized Australian
subsidiaries of International Corporations. He was the Australian General Manager of the largest dental equipment manufacturer in the US, was General Manager of the team which rescued the Spinners Team of Tradesmen franchise from Administration and successfully headed up the company which introduced smoke alarms into Australia.

MDS was established to provide specialist support services to current AFSL holders and advisers looking to acquire their own AFSL in a practical, cost effective manner.

In addition, MDS assists licensees in their compliance obligations from monitoring and supervision of authorised representatives to training and ongoing regulatory requirements.

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