It’s never been more challenging to run a dealer group. Financial planners are questioning the value they get for the fees they pay; accountants – already recognised and trusted by the public as professionals – are knocking on the door; and, of course, the fine details of FoFA have to be implemented.
Next week, Professional Planner will exclusively reveal the five best dealer groups in Australia, as nominated by their own authorised representatives and by the representatives of competitor groups.
Drawn from industry-standard research by CoreData, this analysis represents the most comprehensive and most sophisticated method yet devised to assess which dealer groups’ value propositions and service and support standards best meet the needs of authorised representatives.
The June edition of Professional Planner will feature details of the assessment methodology, interviews with leading dealer group heads and an in-depth analysis of the key elements that contribute towards the winners’ success.
Last year, top place was taken by Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFP), followed by ipac Equity Partners, Genesys Wealth Advisers, Charter Financial Planning and MLC/Garvan Financial Planning.
However, the industry moves fast and offering a highly rated value proposition 12 months ago is not necessarily a guarantee that any dealer group will do so well today.
CoreData analyses advisers’ satisfaction with the support offered to them by a dealer group, the dealer group’s trademark or brand, the autonomy of the dealer group’s product range, and the remuneration models and levels offered to advisers.
These measures form what CoreData calls its STAR Index, which reveals where an individual dealer group’s strengths and weaknesses lie across the four key areas of the value proposition.
Professional Planner magazine’s in-depth analysis of the best dealer groups will also examine marketing support and communications, compliance support, technical services, education and training, business planning, the quality of practice development managers, research, remuneration, as well as succession planning and acquisitions.
