Strategi and IDS merge

Barry Read's IDS has agreed to merge with Strategi which is run by David Greenslade.

Read says, in an email to advisers, that next month IDS will merge with specialist adviser training, compliance and consultancy firm Strategi. He says Strategi have the scale, resources and systems to help take the financial advisory industry into the new age of technology and professionalism.

"We are aligned in our thinking and values, so for us it was a simple decision to make. The IDS name will be replaced by the Strategi name, but other than that, it is ‘business as usual’ and there will be no interruption to the high level of service you expect from our people."

Read says that the next two years will be stressful for many financial advisers, advisory firms and networks as they transition into the new licensing regulatory regime and develop their business models for the future.

Financial advisory firms will need to rationalise their business models over the next 12-24 months in order to thrive and we will see more consolidation and mergers to obtain efficiency and scale.

He says the IDS/Strategi merger is all about capacity and cost-effectiveness.

"Strategi has put a lot of work and investment into new technology - in order to deliver compliance and adviser training services at an affordable price. Yet at the same time we are both mindful of the trends that have seen compliance costs rocket in similar markets overseas. The bogeyman for many compliance companies is fragmentation, which causes duplication of resources and increased cost."

"With this merger, the intention is to use the two companies’ combined expertise, staff and systems to meet the needs of all segments of the advisory industry, while at the same time helping to keep adviser compliance costs to a minimum.