Financial planning practices looking to join a dealer group should be considering the quality of the dealer group’s support offering rather than the underlying cost, according to an analysis offered by the Commonwealth Bank.
The analysis has flowed from an accreditation review of 17 dealer groups undertaken by the bank’s financial planning banking team.
Commenting on the findings, the Commonwealth Bank’s financial planning banking market development executive, Ian Anderson, said the reviews had revealed the importance of a quality before cost mentality when it came to choosing a dealer group.
“This mentality is necessary as individual planning practices operating under a dealer group structure outsource many vital functions,” he said. “Therefore, the quality with which the dealer group delivers these vital functions ultimately impacts the individual financial planning business.”
Among the key findings of the Commonwealth Bank accreditation process were that dealer groups were preferred if they exceeded the regulatory requirements of their licence, had a higher ratio of dealer group staff to advisers, low levels of gearing and greater access to capital.
