The NZ Defence Force (NZDF) has updated an agreement with Milestone Direct successor firm, Become Wealth, to supply financial advice to military staff and families.
Under a deal first struck in 2015, NZDF selected Milestone Direct as advice provider alongside Mercer, which won the military staff investment funds contract earlier in the same year.
Mercer took over as manager of the-then $355 million superannuation fund (now closed to new members) – replacing AMP Capital and ANZ – while also establishing a NZDF-branded KiwiSaver scheme and non-locked-in savings product. Mercer now manages about $600 million for the NZDF including more than $200 million in the KiwiSaver scheme.
As well as advising members on the Mercer-run NZDF schemes, Become will offer other “investment advice, financial planning, and education to military personnel (past and present) and their families, empowering them to make informed decisions about their financial well-being”, under the revised contract, according to a statement.
Become will also provide broader financial education services “including at presentations and events”, the release says. Under the 2015 agreement, Mercer was hired to give financial literacy training and technological tools such as a smartphone app to NZDF scheme members.
A Become spokesperson said the group could recommend investment and KiwiSaver products outside the Mercer range.
Joseph Darby, Become chief, said in the statement that “we understand the unique challenges faced by military families, and we are dedicated to providing them with the tools and knowledge necessary to build a great financial future.”
In 2015, then Milestone Direct head, Brian Cowley, touted the NZDF deal as likely the biggest financial advice contract in NZ: at the time the local military complex housed about 14,000 staff with associated family and partners adding to the potential client base.
The financial advice firm, which adopted the Become Wealth brand last year, was reappointed to the NZDF directly without the typical tendering process for government services.
A NZDF spokesperson said “owing to other commitments” the Defence Force contracting agencies “reportedly did not have capacity to include a tender for financial advisory services at this stage”.
“Moreover, NZDF did not wish to have any disruption to the provision of financial advice services given financial pressures currently faced by Defence community members,” the NZDF spokesperson said. “Given all parties were satisfied with the current arrangements, instead a reinvigorated contract was negotiated between the NZ Defence Force, Mercer (NZ) the manager of the schemes, and Become Wealth Limited.”
Founded in 2012 by Strategi chief, David Greenslade, and a group of financial advisers including Peter Coltman, Milestone Direct merged with medical services firm, Become.nz, in March 2022 to create Become Wealth.
Last year the newly merged business boasted almost $1 billion in funds under advice (with a portion held via an in-house discretionary investment management service) on behalf of about 17,000 underlying clients.