Craig Meller

AMP Limited has reported a net profit of A$672 million for the year to 31 December 2013, compared with A$689 million for FY 12.

Underlying profit for FY 13 was A$849 million compared with A$950 million for FY 12.

Underlying profit benefited from strong growth in Wealth Management, AMP Bank, Mature and New Zealand, offset by the challenging life insurance environment and a decline in investment income on shareholder funds.

The board has declared a final 2013 dividend of 11.5 cents per share, the same as the 2013 interim dividend. This represents a full year payout ratio of 80 per cent of underlying profit and is within AMP’s target payout range of 70 to 80 per cent of underlying profit.  The dividend will be 70 per cent franked with the unfranked amount being declared as conduit foreign income.

Shareholders will be invited to participate in AMP’s dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) however no discount will be applied to the DRP allocation price and the shares will be acquired on-market.

The board reviews its approach to the DRP every six months as part of its review of AMP’s capital position.

AMP remains strongly capitalised with capital resources of A$2.1 billion above minimum regulatory requirements at 31 December 2013, up from A$1.7 billion at 30 June 2013, reflecting retained profits and A$325 million raised through the AMP Notes 2 retail subordinated debt issue.  Subject to APRA approval, it is intended that the 2009 issued AMP Notes of A$266 million be redeemed for cash in May 2014.

AMP Chief Executive Craig Meller said that while AMP has delivered strong underlying earnings growth across the majority of its business units, the result has clearly been impacted by the ongoing challenges facing the life insurance sector.

Excluding Wealth Protection, AMP achieved an average 15 per cent earnings growth across the company compared with FY 12.  This reflects particularly strong sales momentum in Wealth Management, improved net interest margin in AMP Bank, improved investment returns in the closed Mature business and strong cost management across the group.

Performance against key measures

• Underlying profit: A$849 million for FY 13, down 11 per cent compared with FY 12.
• Cost to income ratio: 49.4 per cent for FY 13, up from 47.3 per cent for FY 12[2] reflecting improved cost control offset by lower income, particularly in the Wealth Protection business. Controllable costs fell 2.6 per cent on FY 12. 
• Growth measures:
  • AMP Financial Services (AFS) net cash flows were A$1.3 billion, up fromA$308 million for FY 12[3] reflecting strong flows from the Australian Wealth Management business.

• AMP Capital external net cash outflows were A$1,039 million compared with net cash outflows of A$1,784 million in FY 12.  This improvement was largely driven in 2H 13 by strong inflows into infrastructure assets and a slow-down in Japanese net outflows.
• AFS value of risk new business was A$116 million, compared with A$203 million for FY 12, reflecting the challenging life insurance environment.
• Underlying return on equity: 10.7 per cent, down from 12.7 per cent FY 12[4] reflecting higher capital held to meet new prudential requirements, lower Wealth Protection profits and lower investment income earned on shareholder capital as a result of lower short-term interest rates.

Wealth Management, AMP’s largest business unit, delivered an increase in operating earnings of 16 per cent, reflecting stronger net cashflows and improved investment markets leading to 14 per cent growth in average assets under management (AUM).  Margins in the wealth management business declined 4 basis points to 121 basis points which is within AMP’s market guidance.

The life insurance sector remains challenging with insurance claims and policy lapses remaining at higher levels than the long term average.

AMP has undertaken a comprehensive review across all aspects of its life insurance business and researched global best practice, and as a result launched a series of initiatives that are expected to improve claims and lapse experience over the medium term.

“We’re already seeing the benefit of working more closely with our customers to help them get back to work after illness or injury, improving the financial outcome for both our customers and AMP. We’re also investing in new systems and data analytics that will improve claims management performance over the medium and long term.

“As market leader, AMP has the scale, capacity and executional capability to continue to deliver quality life insurance products that provide Australians with much needed security in a market that is changing.  And, we play an important role in helping people understand the fundamental difference life insurance can make in the lives of Australians,” Mr Meller said.

The benefits of a stronger AMP with the advantages of scale and operational capacity are becoming evident as the company capitalises on improving investment markets and a rebound in the level of discretionary superannuation contributions.

Key highlights

• AMP Bank delivered record profit of A$83 million – up 34 per cent on FY 12 reflecting ongoing growth in home loan customers and lower funding costs.
• Strong AFS net cashflows of A$1.3 billion – net AFS cashflows up from A$308 million FY 12.  Cashflows into the Australian wealth management business unit almost tripled to $2.2 billion from A$821 million FY 12.
• North platform cashflows almost doubled to A$4.1 billion – now with A$10 billion AUM, a fivefold increase since AMP acquired North in 2011 as part of the AXA merger.  North’s success demonstrates this wrap platform’s appeal and quality, including fast online technology and access to a broad range of quality investments.
• AMP SMSF administration established as market leader – following both organic growth and a number of strategic acquisitions aimed at delivering scale and efficiency, AMP is now focused on broadening distribution reach, developing advice capabilities and developing quality investment products tailored for the SMSF market.
• 86 per cent and 67 per cent of AMP Capital funds met or exceeded client performance targets over one and three years respectively – representing improved investment performance.
• New Zealand operating profit up 19 per cent – buoyed by strong cost management, improved life insurance experience and a stronger New Zealand dollar.

Growth strategy

“With the AXA integration now complete, and most of the significant regulatory changes largely implemented, AMP’s strategy remains to focus on the attractive A$2.2 trillion Australian wealth management market; transform the core of the Australian business to a more customer-centric model; reduce costs to maintain market-leading efficiency and to continue to invest selectively internationally, with a focus on high growth Asian markets.

“We made considerable progress against our growth strategy in 2013.  The pathway to a more customer-centric organisation is clear and work is underway on improving multi-channel access, diversifying advice models and better using data to drive customer offers,” Mr Meller said.

As announced in August 2013, AMP expects to deliver A$200 million pre-tax recurring, run-rate cost savings by the end of 2016.  AMP expects to invest A$320 million (pre-tax) over the next three years to deliver these efficiencies.

Our commitment to investing in selective growth opportunities in Asia is providing returns through the successful launch of a A$2.2 billion mutual fund by our joint venture with China Life and the further development of our relationship with MUTB in Japan,” Mr Meller said.

AMP established its joint venture with China Life during the year and is now well-positioned to participate in China’s rapidly growing mutual fund investment market.  AMP Capital further deepened and broadened its relationship with MUTB  and now offers two institutional funds and three retail funds through MUTB’s extensive distribution network with AUM of more thanA$570 million.

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Of all the threats to wealth management businesses a wrong hiring decision ranks at the front of the queue, as non-performing employees can soon become ‘the enemy within’ causing considerable damage to a company’s client relationships and its brand.

‘Successful Recruitment – Transforming your business through best practice’ is designed to help bullet proof wealth management businesses by arming them with the advice they need to ensure they get their recruiting decisions right.

Written by a veteran industry executive turned head hunter with the assistance of a senior HR consultant, ‘Successful Recruitment’ has over 45 pages of nuts and bolts advice, practical tips and tools designed to ensure businesses are in the best position to hire the best fit employees for their businesses and not the next enemy within.

Everything you need to know is included, from putting together a winning recruitment strategy, targeting and harnessing high performance candidates, getting the best out of social media, the questions you need to ask in interviews to identify the talkers from the walkers and how to beat out the competition when negotiating with ‘your’ candidate.

You can get your FREE copy of Successful Recruitment by clicking here.

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I was concerned that I would not have anything more to worry about other than focus on my clients, helping them to navigate the post-GFC economy, convince them that the government really doesn’t see them as bourgeoisie simply because they save for the future, and protect them from unforeseen risks through insurance.

Ah, that last part, mundane risk insurance.  For well over 120 years, Australians have relied on financial planners and before that good old fashioned insurance salesman, to be the party-poopers that reminded them that, no, they won’t live for ever and even if they do, they might just get sick along the way.  You, dear reader, may not appreciate that these types of events can have a deleterious effect on one’s prosperity planning.

Despite this obvious risk and the fact that, generally, people do care about providing for their family if the unforeseen should happen, most people don’t have enough of the stuff. I’m told in the olden days, General Stores would have shelves full of insurance policies available for purchase.  They were priced at cost, plus a simple retail mark-up for the shop owner.

Sadly, most remained unsold.  Only a few customers that had just been to their doctor and received an unfortunate diagnosis were buying – everyone else was happy to wait and delude themselves that it would happen to somebody else or they’d get to it another day.

Now, this wasn’t a good outcome, especially for those insurance companies that wanted to profit from making the insurance.  Their only customers were ones that they didn’t want to insure in the first place.

But why wouldn’t people want buy the insurance? Well mainly because it wasn’t fun.  First up, you had to dwell on the nasty things that could happen, as well as contemplate your own demise.  But even after that, you had to fill in lots of forms, and ‘fess up to all the horrible diseases and ailments you had already suffered.  As if that weren’t enough, you then get to have a stranger show up with some needles to take blood, or perhaps strap machinery to your person and run on a treadmill while a physician does his best to provoke a heart attack.

Finally, after these indignities, you get a call from the underwriter (aka a faceless stranger) to advise you that those anal fissures actually could result in colon cancer so your premium will be 25% more than you thought and didn’t your doctor tell you about these?

So, perhaps it is unsurprising that the insurance companies realised that there needed to be an incentive involved, so they built in a commission system as a way of remunerating their agents.  In fact, they’ve even increased it over the years – upfront commissions have more than doubled since this author was first involved in the 1980s.

This commission system turned out to be the worst way to structure risk insurance distribution that was ever invented, apart from all the other ways (with apologies to Churchill).  Customers loved it, because if they changed their mind or got loaded or rejected, it didn’t cost them a cent if they didn’t go ahead.  Insurance companies loved it, because it gave them an incentivised distribution channel and allowed them to arbitrage accounting standards and tax law to increase profits.  And planners loved it, because if they worked hard they could earn a good living.

Commission is an appropriate remuneration method, beyond the obvious reasons of the marketplace.  It’s a reason that most of the schmexperts seem to forget.

It’s what I call ‘completion riskc – an economic risk which all parties expect is borne by the adviser.  And, until consumer behaviour changes, it’s why upfront commissions are entirely appropriate for discretionary risk insurance purchases.

You see, unlike investments, there is an independent third party to every insurance contract who decides whether it completes or not.  No matter how much the customer and the adviser want the cover to proceed, unless the underwriter agrees as well, it will not.  Hence, this means a certain proportion of proposals are not completed.

Who pays the adviser for their professional advice when this happens?  Answer: nobody.

Alternative answer (with extra points for thinking it through): all the other people who have insurance, indirectly through cross-subsidisation.

Now, more schmexperts have decided that, despite the unpleasant process of gaining insurance, despite the completion risk being borne, despite every other damn else thing  we have to do, there is a problem.  Financial planners are churning customers insurance just to keep getting upfront commissions for the sake of getting upfront commissions.

This is a serious problem that threatens the viability of our largest insurers.  They’ve swung their massive international resources behind getting this hitherto unknown issue onto the national agenda.  It’s so serious that they are relying totally on anecdotal evidence to make their case.

Apparently, there are some advisers out there that have a bunch of customers that don’t mind undergoing invasive medical investigations every couple of years just to help said adviser make some more commish. These nefarious planners threaten to bring the entire insurance industry to its knees by refusing to leave their customers with uncompetitive insurance rates.

I have to admit, I don’t know any of these personally.  I think I met one of these guys once, Fred someone-or-other but that was in the mid ‘90s at a conference and I don’t think he stayed past FSRA reform but then again I could be wrong. But I am assured that they are out there.

I have an alternative solution.  Let the insurance companies reduce premiums by the exact amount of the upfront commission they pay to advisers at the moment.  Let the clients pay a fee for my expertise in obtaining the cover, regardless of whether they are able to get any insurance or not.

If everyone did this, would our society be better served? Answer: No

Alternative answer (yes more extra points): No, because the marketplace is not ready for that concept yet.  Yes, it’s a beautiful Field of Dreams, but build that sucker and no-one will come, at least for the next ten years or so.

To read the first article in this series, ‘Experts schmexperts’ click here.

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• Government handouts to families and seniors contributed to a record monthly budget deficit of $14.4 billion in June.
• Receipts from the goods and services tax were $1,059 million above the estimate in the 2012/13 budget. The GST receipts of $48.8 billion were up 1.6 per cent on a year earlier.

What does it all mean?

• The good news is that the federal budget is headed back towards surplus, although this may not appear obvious from the latest figures. In the year to May, the federal budget was in deficit by $34.1 billion, having improved in eight of the previous nine months, and down from a record $63.3 billion deficit in the year to September 2010. But there was a hiccup in June as the government provided a number of handouts to Aussie consumers, the annual deficit coming in at just under $44 billion.
• Still, the underlying deficit continues to improve. The government has shifted some payments into 2011/12, and delayed or cancelled other spending scheduled for 2012/13. A combination of firm revenue growth and flat expenses should push the budget back towards surplus.
• It’s always important to remember that the budget is merely an accounting statement of government finances. In essence, things can go wrong. And while the budget is considered an economic document, it’s also a political document as well, with the government of the day deciding what to spend on a when.
• In May 2011 a budget deficit of $22.6 billion was project. At the mid-year review the projection had blown out to $37.1 billion and in the May 2012 budget the projection had lifted to a $44.4 billion shortfall. Currently a small $1.5 billion surplus is projected for 2012/13.
• From an economic perspective it is encouraging that underlying revenues are continuing to improve with firmer economic growth. Weaker commodity prices mean that the path to surplus less assured, but much also depends on the job market remaining firm and consumers continuing to spend. CommSec tracks the monthly budget statements and figures for July and August should be available over the next month. So we should soon be in a position to see if the surplus goal remains achievable.
• At three per cent of GDP, it is important to stress that Australia’s budget is in far better shape than most advanced nations. Similarly Australia’s net government debt level of 10 per cent is well at the bottom end of the pack.

What do the figures show?

• The Australian federal budget was in deficit by $43.7 billion in 2011/12. At the time of the release of the 2013 Federal Budget in May, the Government had forecast a deficit of $44.4 billion for the 2011/12 year.
  The underlying budget deficit improved by $4 billion over 2011/12, from a deficit of $47.7 billion (3.4 per cent of GDP) in the 2010/11 year.
• Receipts rose by 9.2 per cent to $329.9 billion while payments rose by 7.2 per cent to $371 billion. Future Fund earnings eased from $3.7 billion to $2.6 billion.
• The headline cash balance improved from a $51.1 billion deficit to $47.0 billion deficit in 2011/12. And the fiscal balance improved from a deficit of $51.5 billion (3.7 per cent of GDP) in 2010/11 to a deficit of $44.5 billion (3.0 per cent of GDP) in 2011/12.
• Australian Government general government sector net debt was $147.3 billion (10.0 per cent of GDP), which was $4.8 billion higher than estimated at the time of the 2012/13 Budget.
• Australian Government general government sector net financial worth was minus $358.3 billion at the end of 2011/12. Net worth was minus $247.2 billion at the end of 2011/12.
• Receipts from the goods and services tax were $1,059 million above the estimate in the 2012/13 budget. The GST receipts of $48.8 billion were up 1.6 per cent on a year earlier.

What is the importance of the economic data?

• The Federal Government is required to release the Final Budget Outcome by the end of September each year. The data may have implications for fiscal policy – government spending and taxing – if the figures deviate from official expectations.

What are the implications for interest rates and investors?

• It may not appear obvious, but the goal of a budget surplus is still on track. And if spending remains restrained over the coming year while revenues continue to recover, then fiscal policy will be regarded as contractionary, thus keeping the door open for another rate cut.
• The latest budget result is a “good news” outcome, thus the release of the figures on a Monday, rather than Friday afternoon as is traditional with monthly budget statements.
• GST revenues grew in line with inflation over the past year – effectively translating to no growth in real terms. State governments have been complaining about lack of funds to meet on-going spending demands and infrastructure commitments. But if recent settled conditions on global markets continue, there are hopes that consumers and businesses will spend more freely over the coming year, meaning more GST revenue.

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Platinum’s group of companies has been in operation for almost 12 years, recently adding wealth management to its suite of client services. 

Premium CEO, Paul Harding-Davis, said Premium wasvery pleased to expand its Queensland reach and welcome Platinum to the Premium group. 

“We are actively growing our firm through alliances with firms that want the support of dealer network, but also wish to remainfree of institutional ownership.  Platinum is our second Queensland alliance in as many months, with Meridien Wealth Management joining us in August.  We are very pleased to welcome Platinum to the group and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship, for both our businesses and clients.” 

Platinum Principal, Robert Kirk, said the firm had looked at a number of dealer groups and found that Premium was the best fit for its business and clients.  

“We were looking for a group with similar depth of knowledge and focus on holistic financial management, rather than simply selling life insurance or other products.  As Premium was founded by accountants, we were attracted to the focus on training and qualifications that the group holds.  Additionally, as Premium operates on a fixed rate and is not driven by volume or funds under advice fees, it made a better fit for our business.” 

Mr Harding-Davis said he anticipated that the recently announced accountants licencing program will also lead to additional recruitment in the near future. 

‘We will offer the three tiers of licencing and the support services that go along with it, such as monitoring, audit and training.  Additionally, accountants will need to be RG146 compliant, so we provide access to the necessary training packages, along with a sensible pricing model.  As most of our advisers are part of accounting firms, we also offer significant advantages with our collegiate approach to knowledge sharing. We believe the referral opportunities this will create will also be of significant value for the advisors in our network.”

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Matt Englund, Head of Dealer Groups at BT Financial Group today announced that Minchin Moore Private Wealth has joined BTFG’s Securitor network.

“We are delighted to welcome Minchin Moore Private Wealth into the fold as the quality of the business is the right cultural fit with Securitor: a boutique advisory firm specialising in personalised strategic advice firmly focused on the needs of their clients. This is a coup for the Securitor Dealer Group,” Mr Englund said.

Minchin Moore Private Wealth is the result of a merger between the highly successful Minchin Private Wealth practice that is already part of the Securitor network and Peter Williams’ established Sydney based practice that operated under a different AFSL.

Peter Williams, one of the founding directors of Minchin Moore Private Wealth has 25 years experience managing a financial advice practice catering to the needs of HNW and ultra-HNW clients. In 1984 Peter was a founder of leading Sydney chartered accounting practice Williams Hatchman & Kean, now part of the publicly listed WHK group.
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Nick Mundy and Tom Jeffries, formerly with BT Financial Group, have joined Minchin Moore Private Wealth as advisers and Jenny Wong, formerly AMP and Macquarie, has been appointed as operations manager.
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When asked why they chose Securitor Peter Williams said, “Securitor is renowned as a dealer group that provides freedom within a framework for established practices that want to grow. We wanted to join forces with a dealer group that would allow us to flourish within our own business model and that provides industry leading support services.”
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Securitor recently announced that they are actively looking to build their network.
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“While we are assisting our existing Securitor practices to organically grow their businesses we are also looking to bring in new practices but it is quality without compromise. The criterion has to be met as the culture and community of Securitor’s like-minded professional advisers is core to the strength of the group,” Mr Englund said.x

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ING Investment Management Australia’s business provides a number of investment strategies and products directly to the Australian institutional and wholesale markets.

The business had EUR 24.8 billion (AUD 34.0 billion) in assets under management as of 31 March 2011, the majority of which is managed on behalf of ANZ’s wealth management business, OnePath.

In a letter announcing the sale, CEO Steven Billiet writes “the  transaction supports ING‘s objective to actively manage its capital and portfolio of businesses to ensure an attractive and coherent combination for the announced potential IPOs of its insurance and investment management activities.

“ING has previously said it plans to divest its insurance and investment management operations by the end of 2013 through a base case of two IPOs: a European-led IPO including the European and Asian insurance and investment management businesses, and a U.S.-focussed IPO.

“With a strong presence in Europe, the Americas, and nine Asian countries, ING Investment Management remains well-positioned in relation to the attractive Australian market.
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“We continue to manage an array of off-shore strategies in our various international investment centres, which are available to our clients domestically, regionally, and globally.
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“The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Dutch government and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011. ING IM will be working with UBS Global Asset Management to ensure a smooth transition for all clients, but there will be no changes to client relationships or the way funds are managed in the short-term.
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“We understand that you will likely have questions or need additional information and we remain committed to keeping you updated on developments. In the meantime, our focus remains on delivering superior investment returns and servicing the needs of our clients.”

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Standard & Poor’s Fund Services has placed 15 funds managed by ING Investment Management (Australia) Ltd. (ING IM)  ‘On Hold’ following today’s announcement that UBS Global Asset Management has entered into a binding agreement to acquire ING IM. The acquisition is expected to close in October 2011 subject to Dutch Central Bank approval.

ING IM had A$34 billion in assets under management as of March 31, most of which is managed on behalf of ANZ’s wealth management business, OnePath. ING IM has stated that it will be working with UBS Global Asset Management to ensure a smooth transition for all funds and that there will be no changes to the way these funds are managed in the short term.

There are no changes to the ratings on funds managed by UBS Global Asset Management at this time.

“In S&P’s view, the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing management of the funds managed by ING IM has led us to place these funds ‘On Hold’. We will seek to resolve the ‘On Hold’ status for these funds when we have gained further clarity on the structure following the integration,” said S&P Fund Services head of research Leanne Milton.

The OnePath OA IP-OnePath Income Plus EF/Sel and ING Wholesale-ING Global Bal Emerg Mkts funds were already ‘On Hold’ before today’s announcement and remain ‘On Hold’.

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Harden joins from ING Investment Management Ltd where he was chief executive officer of the Asia-Pacific business, comprising 1,200 staff across 10 countries, with $85 billion in assets under management.

“Alan has the skills and experience to lead the expansion of BNY Mellon Asset Management in Asia-Pacific as we continue to grow our retail offerings and institutional business in the region,” Arledge said. “Alan has strong credentials and is widely respected in the region having spent over 20 years in Asia and the Middle East in a variety of leadership positions. He has already demonstrated his ability to manage an Asian investment management business through a range of economic environments, including the recent financial crisis.”
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Harden, who is also named a member of BNY Mellon Asset Management’s executive committee, will be based in Hong Kong. In this new position for the company, he will have responsibility for all distribution, strategic, financial and operating plans and business development across Asia-Pacific for BNY Mellon Asset Management. He will support BNY Mellon Asset Management’s relationship with key clients in the region, including sovereign wealth funds. In addition he will work closely with BNY Mellon’s chairman of Asia-Pacific, Steve Lackey, in delivering the whole firm and ensuring clients have greater awareness and access to the company’s leading capabilities. Harden will also join the company’s Asia-Pacific Executive Committee which comprises the heads of each of BNY Mellon’s businesses in the region.
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Mitchell Harris, president of investment management at BNY Mellon, said: “The Asia-Pacific region continues to exhibit strong growth for investment management companies and is home to some of the most sophisticated investors globally. Alan’s depth of experience will help drive our business forward and sustain our momentum in meeting and exceeding our clients’ investment expectations. Placing a senior member of our Asset Management team in the region is a strong statement of our commitment and desire to deepen our relationships with clients.”
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Prior to joining ING, Harden served as chief executive officer of Alliance Trust PLC and was head of Citigroup Asset Management’s Asia-Pacific operations. He was a non-executive board member of the Court of St. Andrews University, a trustee of the Al Maktoum Institute of Aberdeen University (he remains an honorary fellow), and a non-executive trustee of the Scottish Community Charity Foundation. He is an Honorary Professor of the School of Finance and Accounting at Dundee University.
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BNY Mellon has been conducting business in the Asia-Pacific region for over 50 years. The company has 16 offices in 12 countries in the region, including full-service branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Melbourne and Sydney, and employs around 7,000 employees. Businesses represented in the Asia-Pacific region include asset servicing, asset management, treasury services, depositary receipts, corporate trust, broker-dealer services, alternative investment services and global markets.

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Private bankers from National Australia Bank won the categories of Outstanding Relationship Manager, Outstanding New Relationship Manager and Industry Thought Leader. In addition NAB Private Wealth itself was named runner-up in the category of Outstanding Institution ($10-$30m).

Leigh O’Neill was named Outstanding Relationship Manager, Vera Ou-Young was named Outstanding New Relationship Manager and NAB Private Wealth’s Executive General Manager Angela Mentis was presented with the Outstanding Industry Thought Leader award for a second time.

NAB Private Wealth topped the awards table winning more categories than any other private bank.

Speaking after the ceremony Angela Mentis said, “This honour from the Australian Private Banking Council reflects the dedication of all our relationship managers and our commitmentto placing the client at the centre of everything we do.
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“Winning both the Outstanding Relationship Manager and Outstanding New Relationship manager categories rewards the work we have done to enhance the capabilities and service levels available from private banks across Australia.
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”NAB Private Wealth’s emphasis over the last three years has been to introduce a more holistic, European style of private banking to Australia, an effort reflected in Ms Mentis winning the Outstanding Industry Thought Leader award, which she also won in 2009.
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“We have focused on developing talented individuals from a range of professions, providing them with a breadth and depth of banking and wealth management skills. We have done this by establishing a dedicated Development & Capability function to up-skill our managers, as well as introducing industry leading professionals to mentor our people.
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“NAB Private Wealth now has significant expertise in the European style of holistic private wealth management having recruited talented individuals from international private banks,including Michael Parsons (Deutsche Bank), Anna McCreery (Credit Suisse), Leigh O’Neill (Coutts) and Ingrid van Dijken Robinson (Union Bancaire Privée),” added Mentis.
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NAB Private Wealth winner of the Outstanding Wealth/Investment Advisor Award 2010, Catherine Robson, was a finalist in this year’s awards.

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