National advice firms key to industry growth: Fitzpatricks

Fitzpatricks Advice Partners has released a guide on building a national advice firm with the argument that these firms are crucial to facilitating growth in the struggling profession.

While the advice industry is largely made up of small businesses, Fitzpatricks said there needs to be large, financially strong businesses to train the next generation of advisers and deliver advice at scale, helping grow the profession and meet the high demand for advice.

According to the guide, a national firm is not only a business with offices around the country. It is a collection of firms “united by a common vision, business model and brand”, sharing corporate values and advice philosophy to deliver a consistent client experience.

As a national firm itself, Fitzpatricks has 19 principal practices and 39 advisers across NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia with head offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

“We believe that solving the demand and supply imbalance in advice, and securing the profession’s ongoing growth and success will require a multi-faceted, multi-pronged approach and buy-in from every industry participant,” the guide said.

One of the key aspects of a national firm is a charter as it provides a clear set of goals, values and core principles to guide the group’s decisions while also providing clarity on their ideal client, brand and education and training standards.

Though it acknowledged that operating under a group charter is not for everyone, Fitzpatricks said it can be an effective tool for unifying members and building community.

Larger firms also tend to have the ability to provide ongoing education and company-specific training programs that can help staff progress internally while ensuring consistency across the company. This is particularly important for firms engaging in M&A as it supports the integration of new practices and staff.

“While every adviser is different and should be encouraged to embrace their own style and personality, it’s important for people operating under the same brand, as part of the same firm, to sing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to standards, values and advice philosophy,” the guide said.

On top of strengthening the businesses messaging, large firms are also better placed to provide a training ground for up-and-coming advisers, something that has proven a key challenge since the exit of banks – which were traditionally the training ground for future advisers - from the advice industry following the Hayne royal commission in 2019.

Andrew Fairweather, Fitzpatricks Financial Group chief executiv and co-author of the guide, said the guide is intended to help other advice businesses become a purpose-driven national firm that can work with the profession to drive growth and greater outcomes for clients and businesses alike.

“Small businesses are the engine room of the Australian economy and dominate the advice landscape, but there’s room for businesses of all different sizes and the entire financial services eco-system needs to support and encourage ambitious advisers to significantly grow their businesses if we hope to close the advice gap,” he said.

Co-author and head of marketing and client value proposition at Fitzpatricks Advice Partners, Debbie Jensen, said: “We’re seeing a trend of advice businesses getting bigger through a combination of M&A and organic activity, and with this growth comes additional opportunities and considerations.

“This guide distils almost four decades of learning and experience into a short paper to inspire advisers and business owners to develop a national firm strategy and ensure the right foundations are in place to see them flourish and achieve their long-term goals."