Client satisfaction trumps sales
The quality of the larger financial planning sector will be improved by the major banks abolishing sale’s driven remuneration packages in favour of customer satisfaction feedback, according to accounting firm Chan & Naylor.
The accounting firm’s head of financial planning, David Hasib, said a move to eliminate the potential for unbiased advice in favour of quality based remuneration packages was overdue.
“The quality and delivery of advice is more important that product flogging to achieve a sales target,” he said.
Hasib said advisers owed it to their customers to identify the most suitable products based on individual circumstances irrespective of commission.
“It is imperative that financial advice is always based on service quality and customer satisfaction as the outcome will have such a high impression on the financial futures of the client,” he said.
Hasib said the qualitative findings that would result from customer satisfaction surveys and mystery shoppers would be used to improve the quality of the financial planning sector as a whole.
“These reforms should advance the overall customer perception of financial advisers irrespective of whether advice comes from a bank or an independent institution,” he said.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
AZ NGA has entered into a strategic partnership with national advice firm MiQ Private Wealth, as a way to provide a succession solution, as well as career development opportunities for staff.
While the advice profession struggles under growing operating costs, Adviser Ratings has found more than half of practices – some 58 per cent – that generate less than $250,000 in revenue report no profit at all.
The Federal Court has ordered the freezing of assets and the appointment of receivers to two entities linked to Australian Fiduciaries, ASIC’s latest move in an ongoing investigation into the company’s managed investment schemes.
Off the back of the August adviser exam results, the profession has seen 17 new entrants hit the Financial Adviser Register (FAR) this week, helping numbers return to positive territory.
