While Clearview recorded at net profit after tax of $22.9 million, its wealth management arm dropped by 70 per cent from a year ago.
Profit from wealth management fell to $1.8 million because, according to ClearView, of material investments within the division.
“This was driven by the decision, which is clearly communicated to the market, that 2014-15 remained an investment year, particularly with our wealth management business,” a company statement said.
“Overall, [the results] met our expectations.”
The company’s life insurance arm generated $15.3 million, up 41 per cent from last year, which is “reflective of the business starting to gain additional scale and the emergence of profits from the growing in-force portfolios.”
“The early investments that ClearView made in 2012-13 and 2013-14 are now translating into strong earnings momentum with life insurance underlying profit increasing by 41 per cent in 2014-15,” the statement said.
In addition, ClearView’s number of planners jumped by 89 per cent to 221, following the merger with Matrix.
The number of premiums under advice increased 99 per cent to $187 million while the number of funds under management and advice stood at $7.9 billion, up 92 per cent from last year.
“ClearView has further strengthened its adviser support through the merger with Matrix, [which] has the ability to deliver significant revenue synergies given ClearView’s market proven products,” the company said.
“Matrix has a strong brand in the independent advice market; this provides an enhanced ability to attract and recruit financial advisers by leveraging off the non-bank-aligned model and brand.”
