Professional network key as firms move beyond advice
CoreData research has highlighted Australian financial advice practices are offering a range of services beyond just advice, with mortgage broking being the most common.
Advisers are looking to diversify their service offerings to meet clients’ increasing complex needs, with 29 per cent of firms providing mortgage broking services.
While nearly one in three advice businesses deliver mortgage broking services in-house, the majority – 54 per cent – refer clients externally to a broker, reinforcing the critical role professional networks play in financial services.
Additionally, the research house found 64 per cent of these referrals come from advisers’ own personal relationships, while 36 per cent are through the firm’s relationships.
Other common services beyond financial planning include insurance broking (27 per cent), tax advice (24 per cent), accounting (22 per cent) and stockbroking (21 per cent), CoreData discovered.
“Advisers lean most on their personal relationships (64 per cent) when making referrals, highlighting that trust and connection hold more sway than firm-level agreements,” CoreData said.
“With 18 per cent of firms neither offering brokerage services in-house nor referring, there’s still room for brokers to establish stronger connections to the financial advice sector to drive new business.”
A professor also recently highlighted the importance of advisers using a multidisciplinary approach when assisting retiree clients in particular.
Speaking on an Iress webinar, Professor Joanne Earl at Macquarie University’s Department of Psychology, encouraged advisers to connect with other relevant experts such as psychologists, occupational therapists, doctors and even pharmacists.
“We need to have a look and see if we can make that advice space more multidisciplinary, include specialists from outside the financial services profession and drag in other professions to provide a much more holistic, well-rounded service for the individual,” the professor said.
This approach of building up a referral network with outside specialists is a form of “low-hanging fruit” for advisers, Earl added, rather than upskilling your own team to address retirees’ complex needs.
Viridian Advisory’s research from last November uncovered that 79 per cent of advisers said access to specialists is crucial for providing quality and holistic advice in areas including tax, estate planning and aged care.
Meanwhile, 72 per cent of advisers are frequently collaborating with other specialists when constructing financial strategies for clients, reflecting the advice industry’s growing reliance on external expertise to address a wider range of financial needs.
Particularly for high-net-worth investors, advisers can act as a “connector” between various specialists and offer expertise on matters involving from portfolio construction to succession planning.
AUTHOR
Jasmine Siljic
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