Colin Benvenuto was working in his father’s construction business when he was called on to become a financial planner of sorts.
“My mother-in-law had passed on and her husband had died five years earlier, and, being a practical person, I took on the role of managing her estate,” Benvenuto says.
“I was dealing with accountants and lawyers and advisers to get her affairs in order and one of the planners actually suggested I become a planner as I seemed to have a knack for it.”
His experience managing the family estate turned out to be the trigger for the career change that was to come.
Benvenuto, who had previously worked as a teacher in country NSW before moving into his father’s business in a project manager role, was itching for a change.
“I knew it wasn’t for me and eventually I had to let my dad know that,” he says.
Still, the change was a momentous leap and Benvenuto vacillated for a good two years before he made the move into planning.
“At this time my wife was expecting her first child so it was a huge leap but my wife just told me to go for it,” Benvenuto says.
He applied for a job with a large institution and, out of the 250 applicants, was one of 10 people offered a position.
“They offered to train us as planners so it was a great experience,” he says.
From ‘puzzle palace’ to Emerge Financial
“But after a few years, I was ready for a change. It was very much a commission culture and one of those places that I call ‘puzzle palaces’ because you get confused as to who you are working for.
“It felt like I was selling products more than advising clients in a professional manner.”
Benvenuto decided to go out on his own and establish Emerge Financial.
While his time at a big institution was formative — he did everything from writing up advice, securing clients, keeping up his calendar and submitting his paperwork each week — he wanted to go in a different direction.
“I could see back then, and that was 13 years ago, that the industry needed to change,” he says.
“I wanted to move away from the commission culture to a flat-based fee.”
When he began Emerge, he had four clients and even fewer staff. But gradually he built his base and the existing clients referred new people.
“It was scary at first, but I had an unwavering willingness to get up everyday and ask myself what I needed to do,” he says.
“I would ask myself if there was a client I could add value to.”
More than just a smart suit
Benvenuto is acutely aware, too, that professionalism is more than just a smart suit, and an opulent office.
“Professionalism comes down to so many factors,” he says.
“It’s about recognising first off that what you are doing is going to have a big impact on the client, the broader community and society as a whole,” he says.
“This may sound far-fetched but what we do can have a positive or a negative impact on the world.
“I am also a firm believer that professionalism is about removing potential conflicts, such as commission on insurance products. You need to have a relationship based on advice, it is about taking a holistic approach to someone’s finances where you are paid for the advice you are giving, not the products you are selling.
“And I also think professionalism is about having a methodical approach to asking a client questions, to really finding out what their goals are, what they want to achieve.”
As a result, Benvenuto sees the future leadership in the industry coming from independent advisers.
“It’s not that institutions are bad, I have very good relationships with a lot of people in the big institutions,” he says.
“It’s just that in terms of leadership, well that has to come from advisers who understand their professional obligation to independence, who ensure there is no conflict in their remuneration, and who are client-centric.
“It is possible to have a fee-based model and still be profitable. We are proof of that.”
