In 1969, BT began as the Australian subsidiary of the Bankers Trust Company of New York, Bankers Trust Australia, and since this time has continued to define itself by adapting and responding to customer needs.
The Bankers Trust Company was formed in 1903 in New York, and was sold to Deutsche Bank in 1998. In 1999 the Bankers Trust Australian division was sold to the US-based Principal Financial Group, who sold the asset management division, BT Funds Management, to the Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) in 2002.
Westpac combined BT Funds Management with its previous wealth acquisition - the Rothschild asset management business - and its own Financial Services operations, to form an expanded wealth management division of Westpac – BT Financial Group (BTFG).
In 2008, the St. George Wealth Management business merged with BTFG to form one of the largest wealth management businesses in Australia. St.George Bank’s Wealth Management division brought eight unique businesses with them, which included Asgard, Securitor, Licensee Select, Advance Asset Management, St.George Financial Planning and St.George Private Clients.
This saw the brands of BT, BT Investment Management, Magnitude, Westpac Financial Planning, Insurance and Private Bank join forces with Asgard, Securitor, Advance, Licensee Select, Ascalon Capital Managers, St.George Financial Planning (including BankSA Financial Planning) and St.George Private Clients.
In 2019, Westpac Group announced changes to the structure of its wealth business, BT Financial Group. This included an exit from financial advice; with the private wealth, platforms, investments and superannuation businesses moving into Westpac’s expanded Business division; and the insurance business moving into Westpac’s Consumer division. As a result, BTFG is no longer run as a separate division, but has become a single wealth management brand within Westpac, now known as BT .
Today, BT’s evolution continues. In May 2020, Westpac announced a strategic review of a number of businesses, with a view to focus on its Australian and New Zealand banking businesses. These included Superannuation, Wealth Platforms, Investments, and Insurance. In August 2022, the sale of Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited completed, and Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited changed its name to TAL Life Insurance Services Limited. In addition, BT Super merged into Mercer Super on April 1 2023. BT is committed to continuing to support financial advisers and our vision is to enable quality financial advice to thrive.