Sequoia appoints head of licensee and adviser services from AMP

The licensee has appointed Daryl Stout as head of licensee and adviser services, who will join its executive leadership later this month, reporting directly to chief executive Garry Crole.

In the role, he will be responsible for focusing on growth, operational excellence and adviser engagement.

On the executive team, he will sit alongside the head of legal and administration services, Stephen Harvey, and chief financial operating officer Lizzie Tan.

He spent almost two years at AMP where he launched adviser-facing digital assets and executed national roadshows to attract external advisers. He joined AMP in March 2023 from a role at Insignia where he was a senior recruitment consultant, leading the integration of advisers during the NAB divestment.

Stout previously worked at RetireInvest and ANZ Wealth Management.

“Daryl has a proven track record in adviser engagement, licensee operations, practice development, and M&A support. His extensive industry knowledge and leadership experience will be instrumental in strengthening Sequoia’s licensee services and supporting our national growth ambitions.”

Earlier this year, the firm appointed former IOOF chief executive, Chris Kelaher, as a consultant who will be assisting the company. Kelaher spent a decade at IOOF, now known as Insignia Financial, from 2009 to 2019.

At the time of Kelaher’s appointment to IOOF, shares were trading around $2.50 and he successfully turned the share price around to more than $10 in 2017, with the company being Australia’s second-largest wealth manager.

Speaking at its financial results in February, Crole said: “We are bullish about our future as we undergo significant but necessary changes to our business. We expect the remainder of FY25 to be strong as we start to realise the full value of recent changes within our businesses, and as we continue to execute on our key strategic initiatives.”

In the six months to 31 December 2024, its statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) from continuing operations enjoyed a notable rise of 137 per cent to $3.6 million from $1.5 million in the first half of FY2023–24. However, statutory NPAT inclusive of discontinued operations, such as Morrison Securities, was down by 87.1 per cent, from $27.9 million to $3.6 million.

The company’s operating revenue was down by 3.5 per cent from $62.8 million to $60.6 million. Sequoia described this as a “slightly weaker performance than anticipated” due to several closures and divestments during the half-year period.