Focus and support boost growth
Work undertaken in recent years is paying off forCommonwealth Financial Planning, says executive general manager Brett Himbury, with the bank-based group topping this year’s list of Fastest Growing Dealer Groups.
“First we focused on the business structure for a few years to get a stronger positioning,” he says.
“This meant growing the productivity of advisers, the quality of advice and the support services.”
Himbury says the adviser division has also received a higher level of support from the bank’s executive team as they saw the economic benefits of having a strong financial planning arm.
“We have also built a better relationship with the front-end staff at the banks,” he says.
“We have now consolidated all this work and have a very strong commitment to grow the planning business.”
Himbury says these moves are now attracting advisers to Commonwealth, with numbers coming from both internal and external sources.
“There are bank staff members who have done the DFP and want to move into financial planning,” he says.
“We also had a big group of paraplanners and some of those have progressed into becoming advisers.”
Himbury says some advisers have joined Commonwealth from other institutional dealer groups as a result of seeing the changes to the bank’s financial planning operations.
“Other external recruits want to come and work in a bank environment which has good customer relationships.”
Himbury admits the challenge now is for the bank to deliver those services and customers to the advisers.
“Our challenge is to bring the good things an institutional can deliver to planners, while supporting the advisers with good services in the background,” he says.
Recommended for you
A former Sydney investment manager has pleaded guilty to two counts of insider trading regarding a potential takeover of Platinum Asset Management, having acquired $2.6 million of Platinum shares.
As the firm enters a new growth phase, Orbis Investments managing director Jason Ciccolallo has said it is looking to strengthen relationships with retail advisers to align with the firm’s institutional reputation.
The former director of United Global Capital has received a decision from the Administrative Review Tribunal regarding an appeal of his 10-year ban from providing financial services.
AMP-owned North has announced a senior manager appointment as the platform explores growth opportunities in its addressable adviser market.
