On Monday, 1 June 2020, Centrepoint announced plans to acquire financial technology solutions business Enzumo.
Enzumo is the largest independent XPLAN consulting group in Australia, providing XPLAN customisation and support across the country and internationally. Enzumo is also the sole implementation partner to Intelliflo Limited, a leading financial adviser software provider in the UK, and will provide client consulting, onboarding and adoption activities on behalf of Intelliflo when it enters the Australian market in the second half of this year.
Centrepoint Alliance, CEO Angus Benbow said the Enzumo acquisition is a significant milestone for Centrepoint Alliance. “We commenced our strategic refresh in the firm belief that Australians need a strong and sustainable financial advice sector. The last few months have provided a clear illustration of the value of advice and the importance of thinking about technology differently and has further emboldened Centrepoint Alliance as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities.”
Centrepoint has already made significant investment in technology to support its adviser community, including the introduction of online adviser portal Centrepoint Connect and the development of AI-enabled practice management tool Centrepoint Adviser Intelligence.
The acquisition of Enzumo will enable Centrepoint to develop our technology and data services further to assist all those in the Centrepoint community to be both more effective and profitable, as well as ensuring continued support for Enzumo clients.
Centrepoint’s CEO, Anus Benbow notes that, “technology has been driving greater efficiencies for advisers over recent years. However, COVID-19 has completely reframed the role of technology in advice delivery and will accelerate a far broader utilisation of technology across the sector.
“Advisers’ eyes have been opened to new ways technology can assist them, and they will be taking a multi-faceted approach to technology adoption in the future.”
Both Centrepoint Alliance and Enzumo will continue to provide all current services and there will be no change to either business model.
“Centrepoint supports both self-licensed advisers and licensees – we already provide services to some of Enzumo’s largest clients, so Enzumo’s technology solutions are a natural complement to our advice and business services,” said Mr Benbow.
“Enzumo has been very successful in consulting to both self-licensed advisers and licensees. It is the strength of these relationships that attracted us to the business and where we see opportunity for continued expansion. Enzumo has a very high-quality team, and I am delighted to welcome them.”
The acquisition of Enzumo will further strengthen Centrepoint’s move to a scaleable, recurring fee-based revenue model, which commenced in August 2018 as part of the business’s strategic refresh.
“Since embarking on the transformation of our business, we have achieved great success,” said Mr Benbow. “In 18 months, we have shifted all our licensed advisers to our new subscription-based fee model. Recurring adviser fees are now our largest income source and increased by 37% during the first half of FY20. The average tenure of our licensed advisers is nine years – even after accounting for the strong growth in the number of advisers joining us during the last two years.
“The first half of this financial year was also a record period for adviser recruitment in which we welcomed 55 new advisers to our licence and grew net adviser numbers by 10%, despite the significant contraction in the overall number of advisers.”
