Time for financial planners to amplify value of underlying advice



Advisers need to test their value proposition to ensure their clients are fully aware of what they are receiving, according to Neil Younger, BT Financial Group’s head of dealer groups and licensee select, advice and private banking.
“They need to start amplifying the underlying advice content rather than merely amplifying asset-based growth, which is what we have traditionally seen in the planning market,” Younger said.
Amplifying asset-based growth in the client relationship is what is “leading to some of those perceptions around poor advice” in the market, he added.
“If you’ve lost 30 per cent of your portfolio wealth in the last 12 to 18 months then of course you are going to attribute that to poor advice if all that’s being amplified by your adviser is asset growth.”
Younger said advisers need to amplify all the strategic and structural services they deliver to clients as part of their value proposition.
Asset growth is a part of that value proposition, but clients also need to be clear on the value of strategic advice, such as preventing them from making investment mistakes, he said.
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