BT’s new dealer group Magnitude has signed up its first practice partner – Tamworth-based QUBE Financial Planning – and is using Coin as its front-end desktop system.

QUBE is a three planner business with offices in Tamworth and Forster and assets under administration of over $80 million. Mark Spiers, Magnitude chief executive officer, said the group was close to signing a number of other practice partners over the next months. Magnitude is focusing on independent established practices looking to grow and David Hinwood, QUBE principal, said the flexibility of the dealer’s offering was one of the main reasons behind his decision to sign up with the group. Hinwood approached a number of big name dealer groups before deciding on the new BT group. He is also the chairman of the FPA’s New England Chapter. “We’re building our proposition in the market. We want top of mind market positioning,” Spiers said. Although Magnitude considered including equity as part of its planner offer Spiers says client research suggested planners were looking for more flexibility, rather than contracts that locked them in with complex equity arrangements and buyer of last resort facilities. The Magnitude offer is simple, transparent, gives value for money and is allows advisers to ‘come and go’, he said. Magnitude advisers will use M-plan which is a business system built around Coin and includes the Coin front-end software, van Eyk’s irate research, BOSS risk software, Magnitude’s work flow practice management tools and a white label website. Westpac Financial Planning currently uses Coin but Spiers says all desktop systems were considered before a decision was made.