The advice industry needs to redefine its client value proposition and ensure the client experience lives up to it, if we are to improve our reputation and continue to grow, according to Centrepoint Alliance CEO John de Zwart.
“Licensees and adviser practices need to work together to ensure everything we do is focussed on what clients are looking for in advice,” Mr de Zwart said. “As an industry we have become too obsessed with regulation, compliance and our own processes rather than the needs of clients.
“We need to embrace the FOFA changes to consumer protections, remuneration, conflicts of interest and justification for product recommendations. However, effective compliance will not in itself deliver what clients are looking for in advice.
“Clients are entitled to simply expect that as an industry we are well regulated, have high professional standards and are acting in their best interests.
“But clients don’t just want to be the recipient of a product recommendation and aren’t particularly interested in how advisers comply with their regulatory obligations. What they are interested in is how we can help them realise their dreams by protecting and growing their wealth.
“They are looking for an adviser who will genuinely listen to them, understand their life concerns and ambitions, and act as a guide and facilitator to help them navigate their personal financial journey.
“Clients no longer just want to be told what they should do – they want to play an active part in the discussion and decision-making, and they want to feel that the advice and strategies are specifically designed for them.”
Mr de Zwart believes that if clients feel their individual needs are being met, they will have a greater sense of empowerment and ‘ownership’ of their plan, value the advice being provided and be comfortable with the ongoing service they are receiving.
“To achieve this, advice practices need to be structured around this objective so that advisers spend less time on administration and more time servicing existing clients and finding new ones.
“This makes good business sense because in a fee for service model the only way for advisers to generate more fee revenue and scale up their practice is to service more clients and/or broaden the service they provide them.”
Mr de Zwart said advisers need to redefine their advice and service proposition to concentrate on delivering a quality advice experience to their clients – focussing their attention on the client themselves, understanding their needs and objectives and providing true holistic advice and ongoing guidance
“To enable them to deliver this they also need to further automate or use specialist providers for the non-client focussed elements of their business, including administration, compliance and in many cases, the portfolio construction and investment management,” John said.
It is the responsibility of the practice owner and dealer group to help advisers service their clients more effectively and efficiently by providing them with the tools and solutions they need to provide the best value and best outcomes for their clients.
Source: Centrepoint Alliance
