Ipac seeks strategic partners
Ipac Securities has launched a strategic partner program for finan-cial planning practices looking to change the way they approach busi-ness.
Ipac Securities has launched a strategic partner program for finan-cial planning practices looking to change the way they approach busi-ness.
The group is looking to form partnerships with firms who have a bias towards growth, have integrity and a commitment to take part in an accreditation program. Ipac may also take an equity stake or revenue sharing arrangement with some of the firms in the program.
Ipac currently runs a similar program for about 20 planning firms, but chief executive Peeyush Gupta says the procedure has never been formalised until now.
Gupta says the program aims to create "an elite community of quality advisers who agree to best practice principles".
He says the underlying strategy for advisers in the program is to fo-cus on the lifestyle needs of the client, which most planners fail to take properly into account.
"The standard paradigm for advisers is fundamentally flawed. It usu-ally starts with assessing risk tolerance, then allocating funds into asset classes. Advisers then stress the need to maximise long-term returns to drive the client's lifestyle," he says.
"Instead of lifestyle goals being driven by returns, lifestyle goals should dictate the whole planning process."
Once planners understand the underlying philosophy, Gupta says it is a matter of developing the systems within the financial planning business to build profitability. He says the key element of this is to provide "a consistent customer experience - much like the system used by McDonalds."
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