A Netwealth spokesperson has confirmed to InvestorDaily that the company will sell Bridgeport Financial Services and that the discussions with a yet to be announced third party are “well-progressed”.
The company will also sell the remaining elements of of the Pathway Licensee Services business that were not already offloaded in the transaction with Catalyst Compliance in December 2016, primarily made up of Xplan software specialist consulting and education and training functions.
InvestorDaily understands that the decision follows a strategic review that sought to focus the company on its core fintech and investment arms and to continue servicing the external financial advice market.
The moves follow the recent departure of Bridgeport general manager Cameron Cogle to take up a management consulting role at Centrepoint Alliance. The 40-odd remaining staff members of Bridgeport and Pathway are expected to be kept together under the terms of the impending sale.
In August 2015, Netwealth sold a 50 per cent stake in dealer group Financial Planning Services Australia to Fortnum Financial Group and the other 50 per cent to FPSA member firms.
In a statement to InvestorDaily, Netwealth founder and joint managing director Michael Heine said the two subsidiaries will be better served under new ownership.
“It has been important to us to work with buyers who have expressed intentions to support and grow the businesses,” Mr Heine said.
“We want to ensure that the eventual buyers have a strong and trusted position in the market and that any transition will be dealt with efficiently and effectively.
“The Netwealth board felt that Bridgeport and Pathway are far more likely to prosper and grow under companies that have greater scale, commitment and experience in their respective fields. We expect that the two separate transactions will be finalised by the end of the year.”
