BT Financial Group (BTFG) has changed the way it charges Westpac financial planners for using BT Wrap, after advisers complained the wrap was available cheaper to independent financial planners.
The chief executive of BTFG, Rob Coombe, confirmed the wrap pricing for Westpac planners had recently been “;unbundled”; to itemise transaction costs and the like, but that the total cost had never actually been higher than for independent dealer groups. “;When everything’s bundled together you get a headline rate that looks higher, but the reality was they weren’t charged differently than anyone else,”; he said yesterday. A Westpac financial planner claimed to I&T News, on condition of anonymity, that when BT took control of Westpac’s 500-plus branch-based advisors in June 2005, it moved the dealer group on to BT Wrap at a price greater than what other similar-sized dealer groups paid.
The $355 billion AustralianSuper has acquired a $1.4 billion European industrial and logistics portfolio, owned by OMERS real estate subsidiary Oxford Properties. The nation’s biggest fund is targeting a $7.5 billion valuation for the venture and $35 billion allocation in European and UK region before 2030, supported by its biggest international office in London with 121 employees.
Darcy SongJanuary 14, 2025
