Dealer group Omniwealth believes the impending Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulations are backing independent financial planners into a corner.
While managing director Matthew Kidd says the big players will use the industry reforms to gain volume, he concedes that Omniwealth has also fielded enquiries from financial planning practices.
“With independent dealer groups all but extinct, the feedback we are getting is many advisers feel the industry is being swallowed up by institutions and there are few alternatives,” he says.
“Independent advisers are vulnerable to losing business to larger competitors because they are so focused on providing dedicated financial planning services they risk neglecting other services that are important for clients – as well as vital to the ongoing development of their businesses.”
Despite being poised to add what he called “a significant number of financial advisers”, Kidd maintains that Omniwealth has no interest in becoming a large player.
He says the dealer group is unlikely to grow much beyond 30 planning practices.
The dealer group recently launched a new website aimed at promoting its services to advisers wanting to retain their independence in a post-FoFA environment.
With many planning practices under the Count Financial banner believed to be considering their future in a post-FoFA environment, there may yet be a gap in the market for helping those advisers who want to retain an autonomous brand.
As Evan Cooper, editor of Investment News (USA), once memorably put it: “Regardless of how successful advisers operate, they are essentially loners. They barely tolerate management, and most would admit, that they’re not great at managing others, either.”
With the impending FoFA regulations set to change the advisory landscape, it is a critical time for advisers looking to retain their independence.
“It is challenging times for advisers who face the prospect of losing their independence post FoFA,” says Kidd.
“By providing them with knowledge, best of breed services and the means to strengthen their own offerings through outsourcing, we expect to attract a significant number of independent advisers to our service over the next year.”
The firm has also established a new Omniwealth Investment Committee (OIC).
The group of senior industry figures meets once a month to discuss markets and the current economic outlook, providing advisers and their clients with regular detailed market insight.
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