Australia and New Zealand Bank has announced a new head for the advisory arm of its wealth management business.

Darren Whereat takes the role of chief executive of RI Advice Group, a division of ANZ's wealth protection arm OnePath.

Whereat was previously the head of Licensee Select, a part of BT Financial Group's dealer services department, where he also served as head of the AdvisorNETgain business solutions programme.

He replaces Paul Campbell, who announced his resignation in December 2012 citing family reasons.

RI Advice Group started out as RetireInvest in 1979 and was renamed in 2009 to reflect its focus in financial advice. It is one of the largest financial advisory groups in Australia, with some 300 advisors serving 150 locations.