For many advisers who leave the relative safety of an established financial advisory group to venture out and start their own business, choosing a licensee is a daunting task. There are hundreds to pick from and they all sound pretty good on paper.
When financial adviser Adam Chalk, 35, left his former employer BCP Financial Planning to set up the financial planning arm of Burke & Ball Accountants, he chose Patron Financial Services.
Burke & Ball Accountants, a respected tax and accounting practice in Sydney’s South West, was established by Rod Burke in 1989.
Burke and fellow senior accountant Geoff Ball recognised the importance of expanding their value proposition to include strategic financial advice and recruited Chalk in 2012 to build the group’s advice business. In mid-2013, the accounting firm rebranded to BCB Accountants and Business Advisors and launched BCB Financial Planning.
The fledgling practice experienced early success with strong demand from the accounting firm’s 2000-plus client base. It was happy with Patron for two and a half years but the rapidly growing practice needed a lot of attention and support at a time when Patron was in the middle of a merger. The group’s needs were compounded due to the sudden passing of Geoff Ball at age 67, who sadly died 18 months after the advice arm was launched.
Clients demanded more
The practice moved to BT Select. It was a logical choice at the time because BCB Financial Planning was a strong supporter of BT’s Asgard and Infinity eWRAP platforms, but over the following 12 months, advice clients started to demand greater access to direct investment options and alternative asset classes.
While BT provided considerable support, Chalk and Burke decided they wanted to partner with an independently-owned licensee with no product ties for the long-term.
“We prided ourselves on delivering professional client-centric advice, free from bias, so we needed a non-aligned licensee that shared our view and philosophy,” Chalk said.
“I also needed more help running the business. As a planner, my technical knowledge was good and I had a lot of experience providing strategic advice, but I didn’t have a lot of experience running a business.”
Chalk wasn’t actively looking to switch licensees when he came across an email advertising training and education courses run by GPS Wealth. That email led to a series of meetings with the licensee.
At first glance, GPS shared the same principles and ideology, and had the tools and resources to help BCB Financial Planning continue growing, but Chalk needed a second opinion.
Third time’s a charm
He called a former colleague who knew several members of GPS’s executive team. A few months later, BCB Financial Planning had found a new home and Chalk is confident he’s found the perfect fit this time round.
“GPS Wealth have really taken the time to understand our business, our needs and what we want to achieve, and I can confidently say that this is it,” he says.
“I’m 35 and I have ambitious plans to run a successful, growing business for the next 30 years at least. The truth is I wasn’t actively looking to leave BT Select or even Patron, but a couple of chance events led me to GPS Wealth and now I’ve experienced what they can do and offer, I’m extremely excited about the future.”
In May, BCB Financial Planning entered a referral agreement with J & C Accountants and recently hired a senior paraplanner.
“GPS could see that we were growing quickly and that I needed more support so they helped me find, interview and recruit a paraplanner,” Chalk says.
“They drove the process because they are committed to my success and they’re willing to go above and beyond to make stuff happen.”
