AZ-NGA supports merger of Priority Advice and Wise Planners

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

14 September 2023

Equity investment group AZ-NGA has overseen a further internal scale play with the merger of Priority Advisory Group and Wise Planners to create a business with four divisions and a dozen financial advisers.

The merged entity will operate under the Priority Advisory Group brand.

Commenting on the merger, Priority Advisory Group chief executive, Zvi Teichtahi said it would create a business of significant size and scale with the capability to serve more clients.

“This strategic partnership is a key step towards our joint vision to create a thriving professional financial services hub on the north shore of Sydney” he said. “We have clients all over Sydney and Australia, but most of our clients and referral partners are based on the north shore, where there is a lot of residential property development, retirement villages and aged care facilities.”

“Aged care advice is one of the fastest growing areas of our business and there is also strong demand for life risk insurance advice, given the large number of professionals and young families buying apartments in the area. The group’s core Personal and Family Wealth business will also be strengthened with this merger.”

The announcement said that the merged entity would have four divisions – Personal and Family Wealth, Aged Care, Life Risk Insurance and Workplace Financial Advice.

It said that Wise Planners chief executive, Gareth Hall would head up the Workplace Financial Advice division in circumstances where several major industry superannuation funds currently refer members seeking personal financial advice to Lifestyle Financial Services.

AZ-NGA chief executive, Paul Barrett pointed to the scale benefits and said there was an increasing realisation that running a highly efficient, profitable advice firm requird meaningful scale.

“For the firms inside AZ NGA that are keen to pursue a Future Firm strategy, we are supporting them to strengthen their businesses for the future and provide opportunities for their staff, advisers and clients.”