Dirigere relaunches financial licensing service

Dirigere Advisory has relaunched its boutique financial licensing service, Intelligent Planning, operating through the Dirigere licence.

The new model came into effect on 15 January, with founding members including Managing Director, Phil Osborne; former Rothschilds UK financial adviser and current CIO, Damian Grimes; and former Synchron State Manager and current Advice Distribution Manager, Matthew Wallis.

Osborne said Intelligent Planning seeks to bridge a gap in the financial planning space, as current licensee offerings are lacking to meet the needs of the professional adviser community.

“We saw a widening gap in the financial planning landscape between what today’s professional financial adviser community really wants from a licensee and what the market currently delivers. Intelligent Planning is designed to help fill that gap,” Osborne said.

“Listening to our financial advice practices informed the new Intelligent Planning offer and gave us the confidence to move forward with it.

“Key elements include a flat licence pricing model, the ability for advisers to speak directly with an internal industry expert on a peer-to-peer basis and a culture of community.”

Practices already part of Intelligent Planning’s network include Wallis’ own Sydney-based Beta Advice; Canberra-based Hayes & Co, run by Financial Advisers Association Australia (FAAA) Board Member Katherine Hayes; and Perth-based NOR Financial.

The firm’s original founders have equal shares in the business, with opportunities for the first round of founding advice practices to also take on an equal stake in the business.

“We are offering our first advisers a degree of ownership in Intelligent Planning and therefore guaranteeing we hear their voices about how we operate,” Osborne said.

“What we have in the excellent practices we have on board, and what we are continuing to look for is good quality, forward-thinking businesses which have room to grow.”