Former Mercer advice executive Bronny Speed, former BT executive Angus McLeod and former Genesys executive Tony Madden have set up a new dealer group offering with AdviceIQ Partners.
“Our feeling is that the timing is good. We’ve had the big wipe-out with the markets and there has also been significant upheaval with client-adviser relationships and I think it has caused a lot of contemplation about where advisers want to be,” Madden, the group’s managing director, said.
AdviceIQ Partners’ target number of new signings was 20 and the firm was already in discussions with dozens of potential practices, he said.
“We really aren’t looking at small practices. We’re looking at businesses that have good resources in house and that are established in the sense they understand their client, they understand their service offering and it’s well defined, they’re compliant, and they don’t have issues in terms of nasty product surprises,” he said.
“It’s definitely at the forefront of our thinking that people are going to be joining for the right reasons and they will be the right fit – they won’t be coming because they’re looking for an escape.”
As the market has turned full cycle, Speed said there were more advisers rethinking their options.
Under the AdviceIQ Partners model, practices that join the group will not be forced to completely rebrand, but co-brand.
Practices will also have an opportunity to take an equity stake in the firm. However, unlike many other dealer groups, the equity stake would not be scaled based on a first-come, first-served basis.
While the firm could not release details of its research or software alignments, AdviceIQ Partners has signed on with BT to badge its wrap offering to be known as AdviceLink.
