Both clients and entry-level financial planners are benefiting from a flat fee, bells-and-whistles free advice model being offered by Roskow Independent Advisory, says co-director Neil Salkow.
In terms of client numbers, around 20 per cent of Roskow’s client base are signed up to the Adviser Access program it rolled out around six months ago, though this proportion is much lower from a revenue or funds under advice perspective.
Salkow stresses the new model – which complements its existing full service advice to primarily high net worth clients – is not about offering scaled advice or offering existing or legacy clients a fee-based service. “There are some qualifying aspects to it…this is not something we are advertising, because it can be misunderstood,” he says.
Rather, Adviser Access is offered to clients with low complexity circumstances, who want some financial advice but don’t require ongoing face-to-face meetings. Priced at $770 for the year, the fee covers emails and phone calls between an adviser and the client.
“It’s kind of like a clinic, they don’t have a dedicated adviser…we have detailed file notes, it’s all documented…we think it’s a good solution for a lot of clients,” Salkow says.
If review meetings are requested, these can be added for around $880. These fees compare favourably to the minimum ongoing advice fee of $3,000 per annum Roskow charges full service clients.
“This has allowed us to offer more solutions to retain that relationship,” Salkow says. He expects that in some cases, clients who initially engage through Adviser Access will go on to become full service clients as their individual circumstances evolve.
The service was initially conceived as a separately branded practice Roskow was planning to roll out. However, after serious consideration, Salkow and his fellow director Matt Ross were considering dropping the idea altogether. “Setting up the new venture didn’t make sense,” Salkow says, but a previously overlooked aspect salvaged the idea, albeit inside the existing business.
This less complex solutions required by Adviser Access clients mean they are ideally suited to Roskow’s less experienced advisers, offering excellent opportunities to develop their skills. It also leaves the more mature advisers free to continue focusing on their full service clients.
This can be a powerful value proposition for attracting younger advisers, especially given the hot competition for talent among the non-aligned and independent AFS licensees and practices.
Roskow’s Melbourne office, headed up by Matt Ross, has two advisers on its Adviser Access team. In Salkow’s Brisbane office, he and his colleague Jason Atkins are currently growing two of its staff into junior adviser roles, who will then service Adviser Access clients.
