A particular cohort of the financial planning profession is sometimes referred to as the “old and bold”. But as the profession evolves away from a culture rooted in sales to one focused on service, a new term is needed to describe the advisers who are embracing change and who are committed to the tenets of professionalism.
Craig Parker (pictured, above), general manager of the TAL-owned licensee Affinia Financial Advisers, says the future for financial planning “has got to be about awareness, this has got to be about us being very clear and proud about our profession”.
“The industry has evolved dramatically over the past few years, and it will continue to evolve. But it’s about us making it evolve and about us standing on our own two feet,” he says.
“Noise will always be there from a regulation point of view – always has, and it always will be – it’s about what you actually do with this noise.
“The interesting thing is, if you strip back the regulatory noise, it’s all about complying, it’s about clearly articulating the services that you’re providing, clearly articulating what you are going to be putting in place and the fees that you’re charging, and making sure that the client is fully aware of that, on an ongoing basis. What is wrong with that?
“For people who are saying there’s something wrong with that … their time has passed. If we’ve going to be a true client-centric industry we need to be very clear around the value propositions we have, the services that we offer, the way we articulate it, moving away from the sale, moving away from the transaction, to advice. Real advice.”
Take control
Parker says more financial planners need to stand up and take ownership and control of what they want their profession to become. Affinia has launched a thought leadership campaign, designed to showcase to its own advisers the best thinking from within its 85-adviser-strong network, and he says that the industry cannot wait for regulation to drive the process of professionalising.
“The advice community should stand up and self-regulate, and impose high standards to ensure we deliver the confidence for consumers to embrace the advice profession as we seek to help more Australians obtain the financial advice and protection they need,” Parker says.
“It’s not difficult stuff. It’s about caring for your client, giving your client what you need and want, and understanding a process around education.
“Your role is to facilitate, but it’s then also to educate. This is where there’s no right or wrong; as an adviser it’s about advising, providing advice, and educating.
“Self-regulation is happening. The industry is evolving, and there’s many advisers doing a fantastic job. Thing is, we’re not promoting it. We’re not putting our hand up and saying look how good we are.”
Renewed onus
As new research comes to light suggesting Australian financial planners spend more time on compliance and administration issues that the global average, Parker says there is a renewed onus on licensees and dealer groups to demonstrate to financial planners an understanding of the new world, and of the tools that planners need.
“In some circles, licensees have been seen as an unnecessary evil – they add no value; they’re just there to pay my commissions and do my compliance work for me,” Parker says.
“We don’t want that relationship with our advisers. We actually say openly to our advisers that we want to be involved in their business –not in being a ‘big brother’, but we want to [be] vested in their business, to take their business to the next level.”
Parker says Affinia has invested significant time and resources in developing a technology platform to free up its advisers from non-productive activities.
“Having a systemised process that allows you to collect information ,store information, produce your documentation and then do our ongoing management is key to a successful business, and it’s key to this environment that’s going to continue to evolve.
“If you don’t have that, you need to find it, and what we’re seeing is advisers who are joining our network, that’s their number one priority.
“The technology platform and the systemised back-office delivers what needs to be delivered, but more importantly it allows them to get out and do what they should be doing.
“We know it’s the right ting for advisers – we know it’s the right thing to deliver the outcomes for them and their clients; but as a licensee, it also allows us to do things like desktop audits. It allows us to manage things on a daily basis.”
Success based on attraction
Affinia charges advice practices a flat dealer group fee. Growth for Affinia as a business does not come from the growth of its individual practices per se, but from how many practices it can attract to its licence – and that depends solely on how attractive its offer is.
“Specialisation in insurance is something that we see is going to continue to grow,” Parker says.
“One of the challenges I’ve set with the guys is to ensure the way we’re behaving today is going to be the way we’re behaving in 12 months’ time, or in two years’ time, and not treat our advisers like a number and not turn the business into a dictatorship.
“Remember why we’re here. We’re here to support our advisers, and we’re here to supply our advisers with services. We’re here to supply advisers with tools to make them better businesses, and the underpinning of that is we’re starting to get the right staff in place to actually deliver that.
“And because it’s a flat-fee model, were not getting the upside if they’re successful – the adviser is.”
