Independent Development Solutions (IDS), an industry compliance services specialist and adviser training, compliance and consultancy firm Strategi Group are set to merge.
The merger comes at a ‘critical time for the financial services sector’ as advisers transition into a new regulatory regime.
The two companies chose to join forces for capacity and cost-effectiveness reasons.
“The IDS team has been absolutely committed to ensuring our clients received the best service and advice possible, says IDS Managing Director, Barry Read.
“It was clear that with the imminent regulatory changes, we needed to expand and make a massive financial commitment to meet the demand. This is now achieved via the merger with Strategi,” he explained.
Strategi and IDS have grown to match the increasing demand from advisers for compliance and training services.
“We have been impressed with all the work and investment that Strategi Group has been making in technology in order to deliver compliance and adviser training services at an affordable price,” said Read.
“Fragmentation causes duplication of resources and increased cost. Merging with Strategi Group enables the required expertise, resources and economies of scale to be made available to assist the entire industry as it transitions to the new regime.”
Strategi Managing Director, David Greenslade added he expects to see more consolidation and mergers to obtain scale over the next 12-24 months as advice firms adapt to the new regulatory regime.
“We recognise that the next two years will be stressful for many financial advisers and advisory firms. We wanted to bring together under one team the best experience and resources available in the industry to make the adviser and business transition as smooth as possible,” said Greenslade.
The newly merged company will be based at both Strategi’s Albany offices and IDS’s Stonefields base from March 1.