A second self-licensed firm has joined Financial Services Partners' (FSP) network in the past 12 months, amid an increase in expressions of interest from other small licensees, the dealer group has said.
An FSP spokesperson said following the release of the Future of Financial Advice recommendations there had been more enquiries from self-licensed firms wanting to join, whereas in the past the majority of enquiries came from member firms of other dealer groups.
"The cost of providing full back-office services in addition to maintaining a licence is becoming a lot more costly, so a number of self-licensed firms are finding that they can operate more cost effectively by aligning themselves to a larger group," the spokesperson said.
The advice business within self-licensed firm Kingston Capital is the most recent to join FSP following its separation from the group's funds management business.
Of the eight advice staff now authorised with FSP as part of the transaction, some are senior advisers, including Warren Killen from Perth and Allan Rose and Craig Woodman from Geraldton in Western Australia.
The Perth advice business will operate as Kings Park Securities, while the Geraldton business will trade as FSP Geraldton.
The collective practice has more than $400 million in funds under advice and operates at the high end of financial planning advice, working largely with actively managed share portfolios.
FSP chief executive Geoff Rimmer said the two practices already operated on a fee-for-service basis and would add tremendous value in the direct equities space.
Kingston Capital chairman Warren Killen said joining FSP meant the group could extend its range of advice to clients while continuing to work with its partners to develop its separately managed account offer, which it hoped to make available later this year.
FSP said it expected to make more high-level appointments in due course.
