The lie holding advisers back from progress

A year after the Royal Commission’s first round of public hearings commenced, the hard work is about to begin.

The industry must rally to educate policy makers on both sides of politics to ensure the Commissioner’s recommendations are sensibly implemented without any adverse, unintended consequences for consumers and advice businesses.

It’s a daunting task considering there are over half a dozen industry bodies and associations, each with their own agenda, claiming to represent the interests of advisers.

Some forward-thinking advisers are taking decisive action now to improve their systems and processes, rather than wait for clarity.

At LaVista Licensee Solutions, we commonly speak to advisers who want to take control of their future. They want to be their clients’ trusted, primary adviser and they want to be seen as a professional. Those linked to an institution know that this is hard, if not impossible, under their current licensing structure.

Seismic shifts in thinking

The decision to apply for an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) or join a boutique AFSL is getting easier for advisers because the traditional institutional dealer proposition, which caters to tens, and often hundreds, of different practices doesn’t stack up in Hayne’s new world.  

In this world consumers place value on independence and transparency. They want meaningful, customised service and advice.

In the past, there was a belief that only institutionally-owned dealer groups with deep pockets had the resources to properly support advisers.

This lie has held advisers back from developing their advice proposition; adopting innovative technology and systems; and building their brand.

It has kept them focused on transactional sales and recurring revenue rather than building profitable businesses with clearly-defined and appropriately-priced service propositions.

It has cost them the opportunity to do business with quality centres of influence and referral partners.

It has stopped the industry from advancing to a profession.

But there’s a seismic shift in thinking occuring.

This shift has been happening for some time but the Royal Commission is acting as a catalyst for action.

More and more advisers are applying for their own AFSL and they’re partnering with dealer services providers like LaVista Licensee Solutions to do it.

Partnering with LaVista gives them access to the infrastructure, back office and support of an experienced, well-resourced licensee.

At LaVista Licensee Solutions, we are helping self-licensed advisers manage their obligations to clients, regulators and other stakeholders.

Under our model, advisers can cherry-pick the services they want or opt for an off the shelf package including a full annual review of the Company’s AFSL obligations, compliance manuals and core compliance policies. Furthermore, there are AFSL and Authorised Representative (AR) audits, Responsible Manager training and supporting registers for training, FASEA requirements and professional development.

The team behind LaVista Licensee Solutions is the same team behind CoreData’s Licensee of the Year for 2017 and 2018. Based on research by CoreData, the services that underpin LaVista are first-class with the group ranked number one for research, compliance support, adviser technology, technical services and revenue payments.

Find out more about LaVista Licensee Solutions.    

Mike Pope is Chief Executive Officer of LaVista Licensee Solutions. He can be contacted at [email protected].