AXA makes play for Gould but game still on

AXA has been looking at forming an alliance with Gould Wealth Management for the distribution of its products and would like to take the relationship further.

Tuesday, February 10th 2009, 6:53AM

by David Chaplin

Jeff Staniland, head of Gould Wealth Management (GWM), says the advisory group has been in talks with a number of “large and small financial organisations” regarding a potential sale no deal has yet been inked.

Despite describing GWM as one of his firm's “new channels” in an analyst briefing late last year, Ralph Stewart, AXA New Zealand chief, also confirmed that no purchase contract had been signed.

“We've been talking [with GWM] for a while and we hope something comes of it,” Stewart said.

He said his comments in the analyst briefing that AXA would “grow our relationship with new alliance partner Gould Wealth Management” were “reflective of discussions” at the time.

However, Staniland says there is no alliance and GWM don't sell any AXA products that he is aware of.

“We do not have a strategic alliance agreement with AXA,” Staniland said. “AXA is just one of the group's we're talking to. Some of them are just advisory groups and others have both product and advice. We're looking at the best thing for the business... we're not just going to sit around.”

He says there are around 20 managed funds on GWM's recommended list and none of them are AXA products. In addition to that there are 60-70 bonds.

Gould Holdings, the company headed by Christchurch-based entrepreneur, George Gould, bought the rump of troubled MFS-owned advisory firm Vestar last June for a reputed price of around $5 million – a fraction of its book value of approximately $80 million.

At the time of the sale Gould slammed MFS for using Vestar simply push its own product and garner kickbacks from suppliers.

“We believe we can grow [GWM]if we stick to our core principles of independence and transparency - and a good dose of commercial acumen,” he told ASSET magazine last year.

While MFS claimed 28 advisers operated under the Vestar brand from 12 regional offices, only 12 financial planners made the transition to GWM, including Kelvin Syms, founder of Northplan – the group he sold to MFS for about $52 million late in 2006.

According to the GWM website, only 11 advisers remained in the group. Syms is no longer listed as being one of them, but Staniland says he still works for GWM and just looks after his existing clients.

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