Count Financial Ltd (ASX:COU) has announced its subsidiary Countplus Pty Ltd has made its 17th acquisition through the purchase of a 24 per cent stake in Cartwright Brown & Company Financial Planning Pty Ltd.

The financial planning business was established in 1994 and currently has funds under advice of around $275 million.

Countplus has an option to acquire a further 50 per cent of the business pre listing, and an option to acquire the final 25 per cent post listing at an agreed price at its discretion.

In its annual report, the financial adviser said Count is experiencing strong growth in the wealth protection and insurance segment and will focus on its mortgage aggregation business, Finconnect in fiscal 2011.

Count Financial says Countplus’s latest purchase is a prime acquisition ahead of its plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange at the end of this year.

Count Financial reported a net profit of $32.99 million for the twelve months to 30 June 2010, up 24 per cent on fiscal 2009.