Matt Englund was part of a panel session at No More Practice Live, a one-day event dedicated to helping practice owners improve their practice value and grow their business, held in Sydney on Thursday 9 August 2012. Following is an edited excerpt of his presentation on the value institutions can bring to advice.
The current consolidation within the financial advice industry and flight to quality in large institutional support is a natural part of an ecosystem’s evolution. When I first joined this industry 15 years ago, it was fragmented. There were many players in the market, and some of them have grown in size to become significant players while many have been acquired or merged into other businesses.
This brings us to where we are today. Through the GFC consumers shifted in their banking relationships and sought cover in large institutional ownership. And when it comes to financial advice, there is something to be said for advice which is delivered and backed by a large institution – both for the adviser and the consumer.
I believe the consumer if hearing the story we’re telling them. When they personally experience the quality of advice we can deliver and understand the value it can add, they understand that we’re serving their best interests. Whether you’re institutionally owned, institutionally aligned or independent, both in mindset and ownership structure, the quality of advice will be the thing that comes through.
For some of our advisers, they take great pride in talking about the fact that they are aligned to a large institution. If they’re talking about Securitor, for example, they would say it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Westpac group. Sometimes consumers want that level of reassurance in seeking advice, while others simply don’t care.
The thing that binds us all together is a desire to ensure the client is always placed at the centre of the advice. Whether the advice is being provided by a bank financial planner from Westpac or the Bank of Melbourne, I believe the quality of the advice provided is at least as good as the quality of advice found in other institutionally licensed and independently licensed advice businesses.
However, what might vary is the level of experience that is represented, depending on whether you are talking about an aligned or independently owned business, or in a salaried business. Do I think that most of us come to work trying to do the right thing for our clients? Yes I believe most of us look to provide good quality strategic advice in the first instance.
However, the level of experience an institution can bring to the table cannot be discounted, as this experience plays an important role in shaping the quality of advice that is ultimately delivered.
