More planners for NSP Buck

NSP Buck's personal financial services division hopes to double its planner numbers by December in an aggressive move on the retail fi-nancial planning market.

NSP Buck's personal financial services division hopes to double its planner numbers by December in an aggressive move on the retail fi-nancial planning market.

Managing director Ian Kent says the only way this target won't be met is if they can't recruit the numbers.

"Our demand at the moment is such that we're having trouble meeting it," he says.

At the moment the division has 30 staff, including 19 financial plan-ners and offers both educational advice to superannuation clients of NSP Buck as well as what Kent describes as "complete financial man-agement".

Kent says a foray into offering virtual banking services to clients is a "logical extension" of these services. Furthermore, the group is also looking to adopt a wrap service by the end of this month.

Current business volume is about $3 million and growing, something Kent attributes to the educational part of the business.

However, while he acknowledges that the group has a ready market to exploit due to the administration services offered by NSP Buck, he says that in the end it is the quality of the service that wins cli-ents.

"We do have a natural introduction to clients through the educational services we provide fund members, but lots of other people also have that. However, it is true that we've already got a relationship with them, and it's always easier to extend that relationship rather than having to go out and initiate it," he says.

NSP Buck (then Allied Buck) began offering planning services three years ago in order to better meet the needs of superannuation fund members needing planning advice and education.