Client education boosts referrals: practice principal

Ms Dartnall said she works very hard to discover the level of financial literacy of each of her clients and then provide appropriate coaching to improve their understanding of investing and the opportunities available to them.

“We have found that our clients really appreciate this, which means we get a lot of referrals,” she said.
“So our approach is really good for our clients and it is really good for our business."

Ms Dartnall added that in the same way that an adviser would segment clients based on their monetary value or investment worth, she would segment clients based on their financial literacy.

“I understood right from the start that each client brings to the table everything they have worked for,” she said.
“As advisers, we need to bring our knowledge to the table and we need to share it.

“The client needs to own all the decisions made and they can’t do this if they don’t understand the advice or the long-term outcomes of implementing the advice."

Ms Dartnall’s comments follow the recent opening of the AFA’s 2015 Adviser of the Year award, which, she said, her focus on client education led to her winning in 2014.

Nominations for the award are open until July 17 and the winner will be announced at the AFA National Adviser Conference in Cairns on October 27.