Queensland-based dealer group infocus Wealth Management will establish a national advisory council to ensure the group’s 120 financial advisers have a formal avenue to express their views and bring any demands to management.
The initiative, which will be spearheaded by infocus head of sales and marketing Jo Willoughby, was recently announced at the group’s annual dealer conference, iCon 2013, in Melbourne.
Infocus chief executive Rod Bristow said the national advisory council would guide the dealer group’s future strategic direction.
“As a smaller dealer, we’re already very close to our advisers and we’ve always asked for, and welcomed, feedback on a range of issues from software to practice management but this will formalise the process,” he said.
Bristow reaffirmed the dealer’s commitment to remaining independently owned, despite admitting he had been regularly approached by would-be institutional buyers.
He said the existence of “viable, non-institutionally aligned advice groups” was in the best interest of consumers because it ensured greater choice.
“Every now and then we get a knock on the door, but we don’t allow this to distract us because we’re committed to being independently owned and adding real value to our clients in a fast-changing environment,” Bristow said.
“A strong advice industry needs all sorts of advice propositions.”
According to Bristow, the group’s risk and compliance framework, which is built on its client relationship management system PlatformPlus, is a key differentiator.
The entire infocus network operates on PlatformPlus, which contains all documentation and financial modeling tools.
Not only does this make the advice process efficient, it allows head office to monitor and review all advice documents in real time.
“Our goals are not solely focused on growing the number of advisers in our group, but also ensuring that clients receive quality advice,” Bristow said.
