WT bullish on advice following strong full-year results

In its annual report for the 2022–23 financial year, WT Financial highlighted its full-year results, which showed a 57 per cent increase in revenue and other income over the prior period to $162.49 million, up from $103.63 million.

WT Financial also more than doubled its net profit after tax (NPAT), up to $4.14 million from $1.87 million in the previous financial year.

Keith Cullen, managing director of WT Financial, said that results are reflective of more than just the company itself, but the broader outlook for practices and licensees.

“At a time when others have turned their backs on wealth advice and personal risk insurance advice, we have recognised the incredible importance of the profession in supporting Australian families. We will continue to drive paradigm shifts in the licensee-adviser relationship to improve outcomes for practitioners, their clients, and our shareholders,” Mr Cullen said.

“Demand for quality financial and personal risk insurance advice continues to grow as millions more Australians plan for and reach retirement. All this is occurring at a time when adviser supply has been reduced, with adviser numbers now around 15,000, down from a high of well over 25,000 in 2019, while barriers to entry have been set high with new minimum education standards.”

Mr Cullen added that the future is bright for advisers, pointing to the upcoming changes ensuing from the Quality of Advice Review (QAR), which are expected to boost advice accessibility.

“The outlook for our profession has never been stronger for those who embrace the modernisation of the profession, and we believe that outlook has been boosted thanks to the positive manner with which the government is approaching important reforms aimed at opening up accessibility of advice to more Australians,” he said.

Namely, speaking to ifa recently, Mr Cullen said that the level of engagement from Treasury on QAR has been “outstanding”.

“They have some key people in there that are really driving it well and who really seem to understand what the issues are but are also very empathetic and have an understanding of how advice actually works,” he said.

“They’re very practical in their thinking. I think there’s a lot of promise for these issues getting dealt with properly.”

Mr Cullen added: “We’ve had too much kneejerk legislation already over the last 15 years, so it pays to be fixed once and fixed properly.”

World-class network is the goal

Returning to WT Financial’s financial performance, chairman Guy Hedley explained that the business adopted a “counter-cyclical approach” based on its vision to create a “world-class financial advice network”.

“Our premise remains that the supply-demand equation is stacked firmly in favour of financial advice and wealth management networks and their advisers,” Mr Hedley said.

WT Financial also pointed to its acquisition strategy as a major factor in the results. This strategy has seen WT Financial acquire Wealth Today in January 2018, Sentry Group in July 2021, and Synchron in March 2022.

“A key driver in our acquisition strategy was to ensure that we achieved the right level of scale to underwrite the intellectual property and the services that a broad group of advice practices needs,” said Mr Hedley.

“We’re now supporting about 400 practices across Australia, so we’re delighted to have achieved that scale.”