'Long-term investment': CPD driving up practice revenue

According to Adviser Ratings, regularly engaging in industry meetings and peer groups can lead to an 8.1 per cent increase in practice revenue, with benefits lasting for more than a year after attendance.

Furthermore, practices that prioritised continuing professional development (CPD) and industry engagements appear to run more efficiently, operating with 55 per cent fewer staff without compromising service quality.

While this may make it seem as though sporadically attending industry events could significantly boost a practice’s revenue, Adviser Ratings explained that it needs to be a conscious and ongoing effort, with top performing practices “creating cultures of continuous learning”.

Elaborating, the firm explained that top practices are engaging in a variety of activities in order to reap the full benefits, such as regular peer learning sessions, structured professional development programs, and technology competency development, among other things.

While CPD is viewed by many as simply a requirement of the profession, Adviser Ratings said it should be viewed as more of a “long-term investment in the success of your practice”.

Similarly, managing director and financial adviser at Perspective Financial Services Esther Althaus told ifa earlier this year that advisers should be making a conscious effort to invest in themselves as professionals through industry engagements.

“I choose to invest in myself, and that’s whether those CPD points are required of me or not… I want to invest in myself and be a good adviser,” Althaus said.

Tangible benefits

Adviser Ratings found that 64 per cent of practices are implementing digital applications to boost efficiency and 45 per cent are using or planning to use AI. As more and more advisers take on emerging technologies to gain a competitive edge, the ability to use it effectively has become increasingly important.

To that point, the firm argued that CPD events often provide “unique opportunities to explore new technologies, learn from early adopters, and understand implementation challenges before making significant investments”, allowing advisers to benefit from others' knowledge and potentially avoid costly mistakes.

Likewise, the firm determined that attending industry events, such as the FAAA Congress held in Brisbane last month, facilitate the creation of 20 to 30 per cent of contacts that lead to valuable ongoing relationships that often translate into business partnerships, among other benefits.

Taking a different perspective, the firm argued that clients are the “ultimate beneficiaries” of CPD, reaping the benefits of practices that align their ongoing training with clients’ most common queries, such as retirement income planning (81 per cent) and managing recession impacts (36 per cent).

“This client-centric approach to professional development ensures that practices remain relevant and valuable to their clients while building deeper, more trusted relationships,” Adviser Ratings said.