Continuing our series on Ongoing Advice, this week we are joined again by Martin McGrath of Financial Edge Group.

Martin, former CFP of the year and - arguably more important - former guest on the show, shares with us:

• how critical an ongoing relationship is with their clients
• numbers around how many new clients go from onboarding to ongking
• how they’ve worked out their fees
• the touch points they use to deliver value to their clients across the year
• the challenges of pricing work beyond the scope of an ongoing arrangement 
• the joys of providing Centrelink services to people in retirement

As ever, Martin’s generosity in sharing his insights, data and opinions shines through. 

Full of practical tips from a frontline operator, you’ll want to share this one with anybody else you know in advice. 

Find Out More About Martin

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

In this episode of Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice, the boys welcome Celine Ertak from Tangelo Advice Consulting. 

They discuss the evolution of Tangelo, the importance of compliance as an outcome of good business practices, and the challenges faced by financial advice firms in establishing clear strategies.

The conversation delves into the significance of ongoing advice, client engagement, and innovative community-building events. They also explore  the cadence of client interactions, and the need for streamlined processes to enhance efficiency while balancing personalization.

Lastly they explore how to empower staff to innovate, the significance of tracking time and efficiency, and the need for standardized processes. The discussion also highlights the emotional toll on staff and the necessity of focusing on ongoing service processes while leveraging technology for better client engagement. 

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

Starting off a new series with an episode dedicated to reviewing legislation and regulations might, for any other podcast, be pretty dull. 

But that's exactly what Jordan and Nathan take on this week - what the actual legislative and regulatory background is when it comes to Ongoing Advice. 

From INFO256 to INFO286, pre-FoFA, Corps Act and the documentary requirements of a compliant Ongoing Advice Agreement, we get right into the weeds. 

Partly because this is new to us, partly out of curiousity - but largely to try and answer the question of whether Ongoing Advice Agreements are worth the hassle. 

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

After the success of our series on the ins and outs of the PY, Nathan and Jordan have decided to launch another series focused on a very specific, very important part of financial advice - Ongoing Advice. 

In this week's episode, they walk through their plans for the series, as well as where they're coming from as they embark down this path. 

• They agree on a few big points:
• Ongoing assistance of clients is hugely valuable. Defining what you want to achieve with ongoing advice is crucial. Ongoing service can lead to significant positive impacts on clients' lives.

And they land on a lot of the common themes that keep popping up in this podcast:

• Like all real advice, the value of ongoing advice goes beyond just financial products.
• The importance of understanding the true value of services provided.
• Advisors should not feel pressured to offer low-cost services.

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

This week's episode is a must-listen, especially for any business owners or managers out there. 

Katherine Spitzkowsky, of Yulania Financial, takes us through the power of meeting people where they are - clients, staff, family, friends. 

She helps us explore the realities of working with the neurodiverse population and shows the care and attention that empathetic advisers bring to their practice. 

And the bit at the end, where we talk about the logistical realities of employing people with the superpowers and challenges of neurodiversity is eye-opening, challening and super useful. 

Let us know what you think over on the LinkedIn page. 

Katherine

Katherine started her own financial advice firm, Yulania, in 2024. It's been a steep learning curve but she's building a business where she knows she's making a difference, while going about things a little differently.   

You can find her via:

Yulania Financial

Katherine Spitzkowsky (@divergent_money) • Instagram photos and videos

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

In this week's episode, Nathan and Jordan speak with Sarah Abood, CEO of the FAAA. 

Sarah and her team have been in the front lines for all of the big fights affecting advice in recent years, from:

• The outrageous debacle that is CSLR
• The quicksand that's been the QAR > DBFO stream
• The ballooning costs of providing advice
• And the myriad of other issues affecting members of the peak body for advisers. 

In this conversation, Sarah's good enough to entertain our questions, thought bubbles and general rantiness, to help explain what the FAAA is finding in their negotiations with the powers that be - and how they're pushing members interests. 

We really enjoyed this conversation, and found it really illuminating in a few surprising ways. 

Let us know what you think over on the LinkedIn page. 

FAAA Contacts

www.faaa.au

For policy submissions and notes - [email protected]

CSLR Hub - CSLR Hub - Financial Advice Association Australia

DBFO Hub - DBFO Hub - Financial Advice Association Australia

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

We're mixing it up this week - breaking away from our usual programming around one big topic, to answering a handful of the questions we've had come through. 

Ranging from dealing with overly-long SoAs, the power of peer groups, living in a vertical house of integrated conflicts, the questions are universally interesting, well-worded and powerful. 

The answers, well, they're ok, by comparison. 

The most powerful question though, that brought an unexpected and unusual level of introspection to proceedings, was around how to stop defining yourself by the worst mistake you've made as an adviser. 

We enjoyed this one - if you did too, then send more through and once we have enough we'll run the gauntlet again!

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

Aren't SoAs just the worst? 

Clients hate them. Regulators hate them. We hate them. 

If only the DBFO changes had have swept them away and saved us. Instead, we get stuck with that throwback to the 80s - the CAR. Nothing's changed, what're they doing, come on. 

Well. Yes and no, is our argument in this week's episode. 

You're right - nothings really changed. 

But also - there's nothing in the current rules that says SoAs need to be the dogs breakfast of templated text, disclaimers and pointless pages they've become. 

You could 'fix' your SoA today, using today's rules. 

Which we explore in excruciating detail in this weeks episode; reading legislation, regulatory guides and sample SoAs to help us retain the self-imposed title of Australian's Nichest Podcast. 

So instead of bemoaning the lack of a fix from on high, maybe it's time we took a look at the real reason SoAs are (still) so bad. 

It's us, we're the reason...

References

Regulatory Guide (RG) 90 - Example Statement of Advice: Scaled advice for a new client

RG 175 - AFS licensing: Financial product advisers—Conduct and disclosure

RG 244 - Giving information, general advice and scaled advice

REP 515 - Financial advice: Review of how large institutions oversee their advisers

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

A recurring theme in this latest series is the idea that being clear on who you love to serve, how you serve them and the value you provide them is, really, the key to success in financial advice. 

Entwined with this idea is the importance of how you're branding yourself - as a practitioner, business owner and professional. 

Which is why we've invited Abi Gatling of Crisp Communications on to this week's episode, to unpack just what branding is. 

In a fun chat, Abi helps us by explaining:

• What branding is
• How it can help businesses and advisers
• The immense power and value of building your own personal brand
• How important it is to align your brand with your 'ideal' business vision - which means keeping it in line with the people you want to serve and how you want to do it. 
• But also, just how much easier brand clarity makes literally every other part of running your business. 

And lots, lots more. 

If you'd like to book in a free chat with Abi to discuss how you could tackle your most pressing marketing and branding questions, use this link to find a time that suits: Abi Gatling - Founder of Crisp Communications - Marketing Kickstarter | TidyCal

You can reach Abi and the team at Crisp Communications via:

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143. 

We were going to call this one 'Return of the D'Ap', in line with the Mark Morrison classic jam. But, as with all things Challenge the Standard, we've gone the more professional and serious route for this return episode with James D'Apice. 

Founder of Gravamen. purveyor of Coffees and Case Notes, prolific podcast participant, you probably know James from his online presence (or his previous appearance on this podcast). 

We had great fun checking back in with James about:

• how he's going tracking the life metrics he outlined in our last discussion
• what the growth of Gravamen means for his business, life and plans
• how his 'muck around and find out' approach to marketing scratches the creativity itch
• the compounding importance of integrity and authenticity when marketing oneself online

We also open with the hardest hitting question of this entire podcast run. 

This was fun and entertaining - enjoy!

Nathan:

[email protected]

www.nathanfradley.com.au

Jordan:

[email protected]

www.planningsolo.com.au

LinkedIn: 

Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice (Podcast): Overview | LinkedIn

The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Jordan and Nathan are both authorised representatives of PlanningSolo Licensing, AFS Licence 526143.