Cost conscious advisers look for a better offer
Morrison Carr has tripled its adviser complement over the past 12 months from 12 to 36, courtesy of a “growing cost consciousness” among financial planners in a slowing investment market.
During the same period, the dealer group has expanded its number of offices nationally from eight to 24, comprised of 16 in NSW, four in Melbourne, three in Queensland, and one in Adelaide.
The growth is largely due to an “increasing awareness by independent financial advisers (IFAs) of the costs and benefits on offer by their dealer groups”, according to national distribution manager Philip Alexander.
“They have become as cost conscious as any other business under the current market conditions, intent on comparing what they are getting from their dealer groups with what is available elsewhere.”
He said cost consciousness was “generally not a consideration for advisers when markets were buoyant, even if they were generally getting charged too much in terms of licensing fees”.
“However, softening markets are affecting their income and now they are saying to themselves that if they can’t actually change the markets, they can at least change their expenditure pattern.”
One way IFAs are opting to do this is to “work with a licensee that offers a more cost effective business model for their licensing fees”, Alexander said.
He attributed the growing appeal of Morrison Carr to the dealer group’s “independence of ownership and non-alignment to any institution”.
“We simply provide a licensing service, which appeals to those advisers who prefer to provide a higher level of advice to clients.”
Alexander also attributed the growth to the creation by Morrison Carr of his current position about 18 months ago — him being the inaugural incumbent.
In addition, he said the dealer group has now developed an extensive database of financial advisers and increased its distribution marketing activities around this database.
He projects the group will increase its ranking on next year’s Money Management Top 100 list “by 10 or 15 places” based on his projections for its adviser growth in the short-term.
The Sydney-based dealer group, which has $1.5 billion in funds under management, debuted this year at 83 on the Money Management Top 100 Dealer Group list.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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