MMG advisers glad to be moving away from the brand
MMG advisers say they are positive about the closure of the company as it has been a challenge to work under the brand name over the last few years.
Friday, September 24th 2010, 6:58AM 
2 Comments
by Jenha White
NZ Funds, which has been a part owner for the past two years is taking full ownership of the MMG Advisory Partners and plans to close it down; at the same time creating at least 14 new, independent advisory firms.
Former MMG franchisee Jon Davies says the change is good as it has been hard to work under the MMG brand for the last three to four years.
"I think to the outside world the change is fairly dramatic, as far as we're concerned, we've been working down a planning route with clients for a while now and other than the fact we're not part of a franchise, its business as usual and we'll be looking to grow."
Davies says MMG had acquired franchises in Auckland from retiring advisers over the last three years and with MMG coming to a close, he and his business partner Mike Jones have bought the North Shore MMG.
"It's a good opportunity to pick up client bases and look after them."
Rob Blackmore has changed the name of his Nelson business to Blackmore Wealth Management.
He says the closure of MMG feels good and like a natural progression because over the last six years financial advisers themselves have become a brand as such attracting clients, rather than any other brand like MMG.
He says under MMG advisers had been on a semi fee base for some time.
"Now we're fee-based there's no conflict of interest and it's better for the client as it's more transparent, they know when they will be charged, how and by what amount."
Blackmore's revenue now comes from a percentage of funds under management and he is currently looking at a flat fee for advice which depends on the level of advice wanted.
"I'm excited about the opportunities to arise in the future with what we've done and what the NZ Funds investment team has done with its hedging and equity protection strategy - there is light at the end of the tunnel after a pretty hard three years."
Jenha is a TPL staff reporter. jenha@tarawera.co.nz
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Surely most advisers (anywhere) would have to be honest and say that the last few years have actually been a disaster as far as "attracting clients?"
I understood from various financial sources that people (investors) in general have stopped seeking financial advice, and it must have been many times more difficult to have "attracted clients" when your (company)name has been MMG or Money Managers....not that they have been singled out in this financial debarcle of recent years.
It is a sad fact that investors have been so poorly treated by investment advisers in the culmination of events in the last decade.
Someone added to this by suggesting that the debarcle actually began well before the last decade, by suggesting that the relevant advisers of companies such as the old and now gladly defunct Money Managers and MMG are to blame for not having stood up to having been "bullied" into promoting their 'products' instead of unbiased 'portfolios' by their company boss/s.
They simply never monitored the investments and subsequently never moved their clients out of extendedly non-performing investments, even when demanded by their clients..!
What an incredible challenge this is going to be for these 'advisers' to now prove to any clients that they are going to 'change their spots' and admit that they need to perform a radical paradigm shift in their whole approach to investments and associated advice.
And to also prove that they are really capable of truly monitoring clients portfolios.
I assume that we are all to accept that the markets have generally bottomed.
However...where is the real "Wealth" to "Manage" going to be achieved now that the heydays of "automatic" portfolio growth is said to be over (in it's old form).
It is going to be of extreme interest to see if these 'new-age, reformed' advisers are really going to have the ability to overcome past failures.
AND..if they are going to have the ability to produce portfolios which actually produce good profits, and not just enough to cover any fees to "look after" or monitor investments.
"Break-even" may be better than a "loss", but "Wealth Management" must surely have to refer to "actual" wealth "created", and there must lie the challenge?
This time of course, the advisers are going to be able to prove their worth alone, without risking being tainted in their efforts by those "bosses" above.
The proof is going to be in the pudding as they say.
Michael Donovan