I have watched with great interest the many responses we have received from our survey. And if you haven’t had your say yet, today is the last day to do so.
We will release our findings next week – and thanks for your honesty and candour about where you and your business are at.
The one thing that struck me was that advisers are worried about the same things that most of us are – the Australian phenomenon of low to no wage increases, combined with daily costs rising, is a pretty similar story in adviser businesses as it is our everyday lives.
It’s the story of having to do more with less, and at the same time provide the same standard of quality and service that everyone expects. I know in my own business, evolution media group, I have significantly changed the way I run things – from permanent staff costs to premises. The lower the overhead, the more chance there is of making a profit.
I do, however, have a real sympathy for advisers, who at the end of the day have to comply (with good cause) to a costly regime to provide high quality advice. This detracts from your margin and makes it necessary to pick and choose clients based on who can afford it.
For many years we have all wondered if robo-advice can ever do the heavy lifting of advisers. More than ever, it seems the compliance part of the process is where robo can add the most value. While I don’t think anyone has the total solution yet, I do know there are many technology solutions being developed that may make the whole process more seamless and less costly.
But until then, it is a struggle for advisers to keep up with workload, stay profitable and take on more business. It’s a tough job, and one that doesn’t get enough credit given.
So hang in there. We will keep supporting you with content and education that can help.
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