ING ends exclusive deal with Strategi

Support services provider Strategi is moving away from its exclusive work with ING (NZ) to offer its services to advisers throughout the country.

Friday, July 10th 2009, 5:08AM 3 Comments

by Sonia Speedy

Managing director David Greenslade says that as a result of increasing demand for its services it has negotiated with ING to expand its offering to work with other firms.

Previously in New Zealand its contract had been solely with ING and its entities.

Its expanded remit will include working with adviser networks interested in becoming qualified financial entities; acting as external reviewers of compliance processes for advisers keen to become authorised financial advisers; and assisting advisers looking to "co-locate" or merge.

It is also in the process of becoming a New Zealand Qualifications Authority registered and accredited private trading entity that will compete with Adviserlink in offering National Certificate in Financial Services level four and five training.

"We'll also do more work for ING as well, because ING is considering becoming a qualifying financial entity so there will be a whole lot of compliance we need to do there for them," Greenslade says.

Strategi's new role will also help ING to build relationships with new advisers, he says.

"If we are working with advisers as far as support services, where we see an opportunity for ING we can sit there and go - have you considered ING, have you considered these other sorts of products," he says.

"We're not going to be overtly pushing ING, but, for example, ING has a very good wrap platform called One Answer. It's an opportunity to introduce advisers to that as well as look at other platforms."

ING head of retail distribution Trisha Edmonds says it is supportive of the move. "We're just saying Strategi have got the services and the skills so they should widen the net and be talking to and working with other practices and advisers," she says.

Strategi plans to take on one full-time employee and two or three contractors to assist with its growth.

Although there had been rumours former ING general manager distribution Wayne "Boris" Becker was joining Strategi, Greenslade confirmed that was not true.

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Comments from our readers

On 10 July 2009 at 8:11 am Independent Observer said:

If it walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it's usually a duck

On 10 July 2009 at 9:26 am Colin said:

Competition for the mediocre Adviserlink will be most welcome

On 11 July 2009 at 9:51 am From the sidelines said:

The NZ financial services industry is at a turning point where advice must be independent and world class - not the same-old-same-old. For more insights on where we've come, who's been responsible for the damage to date, and the alternatives read Gareth Morgan's latest ramble "After the Panic".