Hugh Humphrey, Count CEO, said completion of the acquisition is a material structural development in the Australian wealth management advice landscape, and a pinnacle moment in the Company’s 44-year history.
“This acquisition resets the structure of wealth management advice in Australia, creating a leading diversified financial services company. The network now represents over 590 accountants, in excess of 550 financial advisers and a greatly expanded suite of services. Combined revenues for FY23 exceed $129 million and the Group has funds under advice (FUA) of $29.9 billion.”
“Through the Diverger acquisition, Count’s firms and their clients will access benefits through a range of exciting new services and investment options, including technical support, tax training, separately managed accounts (SMAs) and IT services.”
“An important strategic driver for this acquisition was for Count to significantly expand its Services segment through the addition of Knowledge Shop, TaxBanter and Priority Networking to our existing businesses of Accurium and (the recently announced) Solutions Centric. The addition of the CARE SMA portfolios and the supporting client-centric advice processes provide new growth opportunities. There are material scale benefits that come from being one of Australia’s largest integrated accounting, wealth and services providers, including the ability to secure better rates on platforms, insurances, technology and research services.”
“This new chapter for Count enables us to offer high-quality, holistic financial services to more clients in Australia.”
“As an industry leader and one of the largest professional advisory businesses in Australia, Count can give more Australians access to the advice they need to have the confidence to look ahead.”