Become an OzPlan Practice

Dealer Group Offering

Who is OzPlan and how does it operate?

 

Structure & Governance

• OzPlan is an AFS licensed company and was established in 1999.
• OzPlan has NO institutionalised ownership or control.
• We are privately owned and all income is passed back to its shareholders.
• Our unique offering provides that each shareholder is required to elect a director to the Board.
• OzPlan currently has 5 shareholders.
• All shareholders are required to be party to a shareholder’s agreement.
• Direct input to dealer management by each director is required.
• Each director carries out a specific role or responsibility on behalf of the Licensee, and is responsible for implementing OzPlan’s governance requirements at their office.
• OzPlan offices are based in Bentleigh, Geelong, Mitcham and Shepparton (2).
• Three of the offices are associated with or located within an accounting practice, and the other four are stand-alone financial planning businesses.

Operations

• The Board meets every 6 weeks.
• Strategic planning sessions are held semi-annually.
• OzPlan’s head office is located at the Benalla office. This office is also remunerated for the preparation of OzPlan’s quarterly and annual financial reports, coordinating the Corporations Act audit and related compliance requirements.
• Each office can design and build a business model appropriate to its requirements and target market provided they adhere to the guidelines of the OzPlan group.

Clients

You retain full “ownership” of your clients.

Compliance

Each authorised representative is required to undertake an annual compliance audit at the cost of the relevant office.

Annual audits are carried out by BT Licensee Select.

Costs

• The current share capital investment requirement is $5,000 per shareholder.
• All operating costs are recovered by contributions from the shareholders with a monthly payment which is determined by the budget set at the start of each financial year.
• Some of the corporate overheads are shared equally whilst others are based on an individual office’s requirements for software, number of authorised representatives and gross income for part of the PI insurance premium.
• Professional Indemnity insurance cover is arranged by OzPlan and is due in March each year. The premium for this is included in the above cost indication.

Are you interested in growing your business,
having a say at licensee level and reducing your costs?

 Income

All income earned by an individual office is paid to that office, whether initial adviser fees or commissions, ongoing fees or commissions or platform rebates. Platform rebates are not retained by OzPlan as is the practice with most larger licensees.

Income payments are processed via BT Licensee Select and are paid fortnightly to the OzPlan bank account and then paid out to the individual office bank accounts.

Software

OzPlan has directed that all offices use Xplan Financial Planning software.

 New Shareholders

OzPlan has determined that a shareholder base of 10 would provide a manageable number to share the corporate and compliance responsibilities and costs. Over the years, several shareholders have come and gone.

To assist with conveying OzPlan’s business model to interested parties, the board has developed an initial list of criteria or attributes that would likely provide philosophical alignment.

In addition, geographical representation both in Melbourne and across regional Victoria (ideally in major centres where OzPlan is not yet located) and diversification of specialist areas of practice are seen as desirable.

Professional Development & Training

• OzPlan provides three PD days plus an annual conference in Melbourne with attendance being compulsory.
• Each authorised representative is required to satisfactorily complete the Kaplan on-line training modules, which include mandatory subject matter.
• All other training is at the requirement and cost of each office.
• OzPlan does not have any employees, and does not provide any specific compliance, technical, marketing, business development or other services directly to its authorised representatives.
• Such services provided by large dealer groups clearly have a cost to a business, as well as lack of access to other benefits.
• Through OzPlan’s association with BT Licensee Select, access to the compliance, technical, PD activities, marketing and business development services of the BT Group are provided.
•  Many of these are provided as part of the annual fee to BT Licensee Select whereas others are charged on a user pays basis.
• Each office is encouraged to share the knowledge or tools that may benefit others in the group. Access to the knowledge and experience of the board members is also encouraged.
• Financial support is sought annually from fund managers to assist with the provision of PD day and annual conference resources, offers to present at such training days, plus access to both board meetings and individual office advisers.

Approved Product List

Based on OzPlan’s AFSL, authorised representatives are able to provide financial product advice to retail clients or deal in the following classes of financial products:

1. deposit and payment products limited to
   1. basic deposit products;
   2. deposit products other than basic deposit products;
   3. debentures, stocks or bonds issued or proposed to be issued by a government;
   4. life products including investment life insurance products and life risk insurance products;
   5. interests in managed investment schemes including investor directed portfolio services;
   6. retirement savings accounts (“RSA”) products;
   7. securities;
   8. standard margin lending facilities; and
   9. Superannuation.

OzPlan prohibits the recommendation of agribusiness products by its authorised representatives.

Whilst OzPlan has its own wrap account offering, there are no directions to use any specific platforms.

The licensee’s APL has specific product rating requirements.

Core criteria for new shareholders

• Need to be totally client focused.
• Operates a professional financial planning Business.
• Size of Firm – this is not critical, but must be able to function as a standalone practice.
• OzPlan shareholders and board members must have a suitable education, qualifications and background in financial planning. They satisfy FPA’s educational requirements.
• Experience – we’d prefer that you have medium to long term experience in running a Financial Planning practice. OzPlan is not able to provide mentoring for “new” practices.
• Must have a desire to subscribe to our co-operative business model, and be both willing and able to contribute to the management of the licensee.

For Further information

If you may be interested in joining the OzPlan dealership and would like further information, we ask that provide the following information;

• How you operate your practice and your business structure
• Time in business
• Specialist services or knowledge available within your business
• Number of advisers and other staff including their role(s)
• What platforms are used – wraps, retail, master funds and FUA
• Proportion of your business related to risk insurance advising
• How your business is remunerated by clients
• How advice is provided to your clients
• What compliance regime exists both within your business and at your current dealer level
• Current dealer group and any prior one(s)
• Copy of latest Compliance Audit Report for all your authorised representatives

We’d love to talk to you about your future business growth and requirements. If you think the OzPlan Dealership model may suit your business, please contact Josh Pennell, on (03) 9557 7654 or joshp@prosperadvisory.com.au

All discussions would be undertaken and treated as strictly commercial in confidence.