Non-aligned movement drives growth for dealer group

Speaking to ifa, dealer group Australian Capital Financial Planning (ACFP) said it had doubled its adviser numbers as a result of the growing non-aligned movement and the reaction of advisers to the myriad of changes currently challenging the sector.

“Our adviser numbers have doubled because more advisers are moving to the non-aligned space,” ACFP chief executive Barry Parker said. 

“We currently have 25 advisers and are in conversations with another 11, and it’s because of all the changes going on in the industry right now.

“We have a broad APL offering, we don't prescribe products, and our advisers have the freedom to do what they want in terms of where they want to go with their businesses so long as they can justify the decisions they make.”

Further, ACFP has been focusing on building up its adviser referral initiatives and will also be launching a financial education program for advisers to use with their clients to increase financial literacy.

‘We want to make it as easy as possible for an adviser to run their business, particularly if it's a business that is new to the industry,” Mr Parker said.

“We have added a B2B service that can be accessed by our adviser network and which flags potential business referral opportunities. ACFP will help drive discussions and set up appointments between businesses in the network.

“We are also looking to establish an online financial education course for advisers to recommend to their clients or use for prospecting purposes. The online program will have 30 modules for clients to complete if they want to further understand exactly what they’re doing with their finances.

“The idea will be that advisers can choose to run webinars concurrently with the course to discuss any areas that clients may not be strong with.”

“A lot of advisers are good at one thing but not particularly strong at administration or prospecting or initiating business to business referral relationships, so our aim is to help drive business continuity,” he said.