Count renews Iress contract

Count has renewed its contract with Iress to continue to provide software to its 550 financial adviser network.

Count's financial advisers will continue to use Iress' Xplan, saying that it wanted to partner with the right provider to support its growth ambitions in a scalable and reliable way and drive efficiencies.

Count group head of advice Andrew Kennedy said Xplan was re-selected based on its depth, efficiency, and productivity. Count has been an Xplan client since 2011.

"Xplan has been our client servicing hub of choice for many years to ensure our network of financial advisers are supported with the most powerful, efficient, and secure tools in the market. We know that with Xplan, we can continue to grow at scale and with efficiency while Iress as our partner will continue to listen and improve the product to match our needs," he said.

The partnership will also see Iress provide professional development programs and events to Count's advisers.

Iress executive general manager for wealth APAC Kelli Willmer said: "We look forward to continuing to work closely with key customers like Count to evolve our software and service offerings, empowering them to deliver an exceptional experience for their advisers and clients."

Last week, Iress upped its 2024 financial year adjusted EBITDA guidance from between $117 million and $127 million to a range of $122 million to $132 million.

Iress chief executive Marcus Price said this speaks to the "solid progress" made on the firm's transformation program that has been two years in the making.

"This upgrade comes as a result of bringing forward the benefits of transformation, through stronger cost discipline and a clear focus on our core businesses. Our progress in asset sales within the Managed Portfolio is also strengthening our balance sheet. We expect to achieve our target leverage range of 1.0-1.5x through 2024 after which we will be in a position to consider reinstating dividends," he said.

Last year, Iress established the Managed Portfolio division that was then separated into the UK and Other units.

"In the Other division we've made significant progress on asset sales. We've sold the MFA (Managed Funds Administration) and Platform businesses, and we have a binding agreement to sell the UK Mortgages business which we expect to complete by the middle of the year. These asset sales have supported both the streamlining of our operations and efforts to deleverage the business Managed Funds Administration," Price said.

The UK component separates the activities of Wealth & Sourcing from Trading.

Harry Mitchell currently oversees Wealth & Sourcing in addition to APAC Wealth. The Trading unit now reports into Jason Hoang as part of our global portfolio of Trading & Market Data businesses.

"Our next focus for the Managed Portfolio is a strategic review of the businesses within it, which may include moving the UK back into the core part of our portfolio. We are also continuing the process of disentanglement in South Africa and Canada," Price said