Sentry-WealthSure deal creates 300-strong licensee

Sentry issued a statement yesterday following ASIC’s revelation that the WealthSure Group has entered into new enforceable undertakings following a restructure that saw Sentry take ownership of WealthSure Financial Services, one of its two AFSLs.

The statement from Sentry said the combined group will have over 300 advisers and total funds under advice of $5 billion, making it one of Australia’s largest non-institutional dealer groups.

“We are confident that the opportunities provided by the new broader organisation will have strong appeal for all financial advisers seeking a non-aligned licensee that offers value for money, has a dedicated, experienced, stable management team, financial security, infrastructure and the scale to proactively support their practices in the post-FOFA era,” said Sentry managing director Murray Hills.

Speaking to ifa, WealthSure CEO David Newman said the two firms had a similar culture and advice philosophy, both being independently-owned firms from Western Australia.

Having been through the EU process, Mr Newman said he was excited for the joint future and comforted by the fact that Sentry has made a number of similar acquisitions in the past.

“We worked our tails off throughout [the regulatory process] to reposition WealthSure and now we can move forward,” he said.

The EU process continues until October 2018, with ASIC noting that the company is making good progress on the set objectives.