Increased complexity driving demand for specialist advisers

An Adviser Sentiment Poll recently conducted by Viridian Advisory has revealed that almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of advisers are collaborating with tax, aged care, and estate planning specialist advisers on a regular basis.

Furthermore, the survey reported 93 per cent of advisers stated that the required skill set has become more complex over the past five years.

With the complexity of financial advice continuing to rise, 79 per cent of respondents said it is crucial to have access to specialist advisers to help them provide “comprehensive, holistic and high-quality advice”.

The co-founder and general manager of advice at Viridian, Brett Arnol, said the reality of modern-day financial advice has driven the need for collaboration across the profession to best meet the needs of clients.

“These days, access to specialists isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s an absolute must. Clients face increasingly complex financial challenges, from tax and estate planning to navigating divorce and aged care,” Arnol said.

“No single adviser can be an expert in all these areas, which is why having a network of specialists is essential. It’s about making sure clients get the right advice from the right people, tailored to their unique situation, and no single adviser can deliver that alone.”

Specialist adviser Angelo Baronessa told ifa last month that both specialists and generalists have a role to play in the advice landscape, as they both provide different but equally important services.

“I always think of it like seeing a doctor. So, you’ll go to your GP because they’re general in nature, and they can deal with a whole range of things. Same in financial planning. So, there’s always going to be a need for generalist advisers,” Baronessa said.

“I know it’s probably hard to know what’s going to happen in the distant future, but there’s always going to be a need for generalists and specialists.”

Appearing on a recent episode of the ifa Show, financial adviser Nathan Fradley stressed that, within the aged care advice space of which he specialises, it is easy for those without sufficient training and knowledge to unintentionally make irreversible mistakes, further highlighting the need to consult specialists where necessary.

“There’s certain specialisations, like SMSF, similar kind of thing. If you don’t really know the rules and you can’t explain them well to people, you can do some real damage … which is hard to unwind. In the case of aged care, sometimes you can’t unwind it, and I think that’s really the danger,” Fradley said.

In addition to consulting with specialists, advisers have also turned to using different modes of investing to keep up with the more complex advice environment.

Viridian found that 88 per cent of advisers also increased their use of separately managed accounts (SMAs) to meet the evolving needs of clients, which the firms said underscored the demand for tailored and diversified strategies.