Financial Planning Services: growing from coast to coast

Financial Planning Services (Australia) was launched as a national boutique dealer group in June 2001.

Initially, the group had three financial planners and one office on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

The group now boasts more than 26 financial planners in 12 offices across Australia — impressive growth by any standards.

Financial Planning Services national business manager Darren Wise says what has been attracting new planners is the flat fee-based model and boutique, independent nature of the group.

With plans to expand to 20 offices over the next 12 months — effectively doubling in size — Wise admits the group is employing a fairly aggressive growth strategy at this stage in its life.

“We spent a lot of time on our systems and made the AFSL transition in May last year — we wanted to get that out of the way early so we could get on with business,” Wise says.

“We were opportunistic to realise the industry was changing, and it was beginning to be dominated by institutions — that there was a lack of boutique groups who aren’t about pushing distribution.”

The strategy appears to be working. Wise says the majority of planners who have joined the group over the past year are those from institutionally-owned groups who are looking for more freedom.

Wise says because the dealer group focuses on what he calls pure financial planning (there are no accounting-type offices within the group), the planners joining are predominantly investment and wealth creation based, and from the group’s point of view, preferably certified financial planners (CFP).

The expectation is that over time the group’s brand recognition will grow, attracting more of these types of planners to the group.

In the meantime, Wise is happy to keep one eye on the growth and the other on the beach through the window of his Sunshine Coast office.