Advisers brace for race of ‘epic’ proportions

Advisers Conaill Keniry and Benjamin Collins have teamed up to launch the inaugural Adviser Games – a fun and unique take on professional development days.

Speaking to ifa, Mr Keniry, director at Cobalt Advisers, explained that the idea was born out of many conversations with peers and business development managers (BDMs) who identified that classic events don’t provide enough time for informal education or valuable peer interactions.

“We asked our advisers and other advisers what they wanted out of PD days and industry events, turns out what they’re looking for, yes, a little bit of education, but they really want interaction with other advisers,” Mr Keniry said.

“We asked similar questions to BDMs, partners, stakeholders and etc and what they wanted is more in-depth interaction with advisers as well. So, this whole PD day idea of advisers sitting at a table staring at PowerPoint slides, it doesn’t really work for anybody.

“BDMs don’t really get to have those conversations with advisers, and as an adviser, you may or may not even speak to the person on your left and right, so that’s where the Adviser Games kind of got created.”

Mr Keniry and Mr Collins, director at Beryllium Advisers, wanted to create something that is fun and enjoyable, and that fosters ample networking.

Their first event under the Adviser Games banner will take place on 19 October in Brisbane and will follow an amazing race-type format.

It is expected to attract up to 50 advisers who will go “head-to-head” in a race of “epic” proportions.

“We’ve got nine partners who have signed on, they’ll be like the nine stops along the way, so advisers are racing to get to these different stops, do challenges, a lot of interaction, a lot of fun. We’ll have a dinner, and we’ll have a champion,” Mr Keniry said.

“It’s AFSL agnostic, anyone can join so something a bit different.”

Looking ahead to next year, Mr Keniry said, “we’ve got a bunch of events lined up”.