Count has announced that Bendigo-based advice practice Venture Financial Advisers (Venture) will be joining the revamped group as its newest Member firm.

Venture is the second significant firm to join Count from Godfrey Pembroke in as many months, after the CountPlus owned licensee previously welcomed Ascent Private Wealth in November. Count has been strategically targeting quality advice firms to join its national network throughout 2020.

Venture has been part of the Bendigo community for over 20 years and has a 13-strong team who specialise in financial planning and SMSF accounting.

Speaking about their reasons for choosing Count as a licensee partner, Nicola Chaffe, Director and Financial Adviser at Venture, said the decision was largely influenced by the values-based approach that both businesses share.

“At Venture we value relationships and collaboration to achieve the best results for our clients, and throughout the discussions and negotiations with Count Financial they demonstrated these same values and were very clear about the service they could provide us with.”

“We were introduced to Count by a Melbourne-based financial adviser who had moved there in late 2019. When describing her experience with Count one comment really resonated with us – she said she had found ‘her people’ in the industry. For our younger advisers, that sense of community which Count Financial offers will be a positive influence as they forge their careers,” she added.

For 40 years, Count has driven the accounting-led financial advice model in Australia and proudly advocated for regional small businesses.

“As a regional-based advice firm with strong accounting ties and a paramount focus on strategy, Count Financial was the natural partner for Venture. We are excited to begin connecting with other Members across regional Victoria,” Ms Chaffe said.

Andrew Kennedy, Chief Advice Officer at Count, said the appointment of Venture was a massive coup for the licensee which continues to target quality advice firms to join its network.

“The team at Venture have a strong reputation for working in close partnership with their clients to create positive outcomes and we’re extremely happy to have them coming on board. Their experience will be a valuable resource for other firms in our network to leverage as we look to deliver more peer sharing initiatives in 2021.”