What event stood out to you in 2023 as crucial to advisers and how they do business?
I think that probably the big thing has been the RBA movements through 2023. We’ve seen the fastest interest rate tightening cycle in a generation. And now, thankfully seeming to get to the other side of it, or at least very close to. I think that for advisers and investors that’s been massive from a cost of living impact perspective, as well as a mindset and psychology of investing perspective as well. There’s still a lot of people that are doing quite well in the current environment, but almost everyone is doing a little bit less well than they were 12 months ago. That’s probably been the biggest thing for us to deal with as a business for our clients, that impact, the flow through what they should do, how they should prepare, and how to make sure that they’re still making smart decisions through this period.
How do you feel going into 2024? Is it optimism, trepidation, or a bit of both?
I feel like it’s a great time to be an adviser and I think that there’s a lot of ways that we can add value to our clients. There’s a lot of opportunities there for people to make smart money choices and make the most of this environment that we’re in, and I think that increasingly, the good news stories about great financial advice and the impact it can have are getting out there. So, more people are seeking out advice and quality, professional advice. As an adviser and as a business owner, I’m really excited for 2024 and beyond.
What are your expectations and wishes for 2024 and what do you expect will be the reality?
I’m an optimist, so I’d like to hope that these QAR reforms will make our lives a little bit easier. I don’t think it’s going to be a silver bullet. I think a lot of us, myself included, got pretty excited looking at the Levy review and some of the earliest suggestions, it’s now seeming that it’s probably not going to be as streamlined or efficient or admin-light as I think a lot of us would have hoped. But I expect that there will be a reduction in some of the admin and compliance burden and allow us to redeploy that time and focus and resources to helping people more, driving efficiencies and either delivering more or cutting the costs of some of our advice.
What will your personal focus in 2024 be?
We’re on the efficiency track at the moment and just trying to streamline our advice production and delivery as much as we can while actually creating an uplift in the user experience for our clients. Because the QAR reforms were up in the air through this year, we wanted to wait to see how that all landed before we went and implemented any major changes to our advice delivery process. But as we’re getting closer to having that certainty, we will work with whatever that ultimately looks like and then build our advice around that.
Do you expect the advice landscape to change next year?
Thankfully, not, I think, is the answer on that. I think the QAR will change things a little bit, but thankfully, not heaps. Advisers will be happy to have a bit of continuity and just execute on what we’ve got in front of us.
