Clients stick to adviser because of trust, not firm’s brand

In a recent opinion piece published on ifa, Craig West – chief executive and founder of boutique consulting and advisory firm Succession Plus – highlighted a number of strategies for finding and retaining advisers.

“Financial advisers are in a ‘people business’ – clients trust their adviser and that’s why they stay, not because of the firm’s brand,” Mr West wrote.

“This means that unless you are a sole trader, your people are your greatest asset and they need to be managed and rewarded accordingly.

“There are many ways to do this successfully, and I recommend advice firms think outside the box when it comes to attracting, retaining and motivating staff in what is currently a very tight labour market with a high workload.”

It comes after Phil Pilgrim – general manager of partnerships and distribution at Implemented Portfolios – said the onerous process of providing advice is resulting in the burnout of Australian financial advisers.

Speaking at the Adviser Innovation Summit 2021, Mr Pilgrim said time is one of the biggest issues in the sector and that “advisers have never been so time-poor”.

“We’re time-poor, we’re stressed, we need more hours in the day and we aren’t spending enough quality time with clients,” he said.

Read the full opinion piece from Mr West here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.