The ifa Show

Some advisers are managing to turn the coronavirus crisis into an opportunity to improve their business models.

Kim Payne, managing director of 9rock Consulting, joins host Sarah Kendell in this episode of The ifa Show for a timely discussion about how advisers can create profitable new service offerings by adapting to changing industry trends.

Kim outlines the changes advisers can make to increase efficiency, how to broach the topic of putting up prices with clients, and what sorts of new business pieces advisers should be prioritising.

Manager - practice solutions team at Iress, Kelli Willmer, specialises in helping SME advice practices develop efficient and effective business processes in order to save both time and money.

In this episode of The ifa Show, Kelli joins host Sarah Kendell to deep-dive into some of the biggest challenges faced by small-to-medium sized advice practices and how COVID-19 has affected this sector of the industry.

Kelli reveals her top time-saving hacks for advisers, why focusing on compliance can increase efficiency in the longer term, and how Iress' product offering helps advisers deliver more accurate and economical advice to their clients.

According to the director of Synchron, Don Trapnell, the life insurance industry has truly stepped up to the mark since the pandemic began in order to meet the needs of both advisers and consumers in this challenging time.

Don joins host Sarah Kendell on this episode of The ifa Show to discuss the options available to life insurance clients experiencing financial hardship, the impacts of the coronavirus on life insurance sales, and the value of reducing the amount of regulation for advisers.

Don also reflects on the reasons behind the increase in advisers leaving the industry, whether the coronavirus and FASEA deadline extension have encouraged advisers to stay on longer than intended, and the key focuses for Synchron heading into the new financial year.

As the EOFY approaches, advisers are facing the new challenge of providing guidance to their clients around incorporating pandemic-triggered measures into their financial decisions.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Sarah Kendell is joined by Michael Hutton, personal wealth management partner at HLB Mann Judd, to break down the key issues that are affecting his clients in the lead up to tax time.

Michael explains some helpful strategies for advisers to consider for different client situations, from landlords with struggling tenants, to those approaching retirement, to people with more cash than anticipated.

After appearing as a panellist on ifa's recent live webcast, Bryan Ashenden, head of financial literacy and advocacy at BT Financial, delves into the finer details of the FASEA standards with host Sarah Kendell on this episode of The ifa Show.

Bryan shares the key concerns he's hearing from advisers regarding sitting the exam remotely and which standards advisers are finding most challenging at the moment.

He also explains what constitutes "informed consent", how advisers can compliantly structure referral arrangements in line with standard 3, and what qualifications are needed in order to enter one's professional year.

On this episode of the ifa Show, host Sarah Kendell is joined by Iress' manager-practice solutions team Kelli Willmer, to discuss how adviser use of technology has rapidly evolved as the COVID-19 crisis has taken hold.

Kelli discusses some of the misconceptions advisers might have had around clients and technology prior to the crisis, and how practices have adapted to the challenge of keeping clients and employees engaged while working remotely.

Kelli also shares her insights into how advice processes might change for the better on the other side of COVID-19, and what business owners can do to support their staff in making a productive return to the workplace.

In April, Momentum Intelligence conducted a major survey to understand how the coronavirus pandemic has been affecting the nation's professional services across seven different industries.

The head of strategy at Momentum Intelligence, Michael Johnson, joins host Sarah Kendell on this episode of The ifa Show to analyse the findings of the MyBusiness COVID-19 Sentiment Survey, revealing how advisers' revenue, workload volumes, and mental health situations have been impacted.

Tune in to find out which professional services industries have been hit the hardest, the satisfaction rate among the financial advice sector towards the government's stimulus measures, and the overall sentiment when looking to a post-pandemic future.

On this episode of The ifa Show, host Sarah Kendell is joined by Australian Unity Advice's executive general manager, Matt Brown, to discuss the impact of the government's relief measures on advisers in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Matt shares his insight on how useful the changed SOA requirements are for advisers, whether advisers should be prepared for the FASEA exam compliance deadline to remain as it is, and how the regulatory burden on advisers can be further reduced.

Matt also delves into what can be done to keep advice affordable and accessible, where he sees the industry progressing over the next decade, and how advisers can help educate their clients in financial literacy.

With all face-to-face FASEA exam sessions replaced with online exams as a result of COVID-19 and the bill to extend the 1 January 2021 compliance deadline in limbo, many advisers are expressing concerns about passing the test in time.

On this episode of The ifa Show, host Sarah Kendell is joined by Joel Ronchi, principal consultant of myIntegrity in Practice, a training organisation that specialises in preparing advisers for the exam.

Joel outlines some of the concerns he's been hearing from advisers around sitting the exam remotely, what is driving the trend of less advisers passing over time, and how advisers can adequately prepare themselves for taking the exam in the coming months.

Faced with the challenge of engaging with a new generation of clients, head of partnerships at Advice Intelligence Fraser Jack tackled the issue head-on - by starting his very own podcast.

Fraser joins host Sarah Kendell on this episode of The ifa Show to share why he finds this such an effective tool for communicating with prospective and current clients, how he's grown his listenership, and what tips he would give to advisers looking to enter the podcasting realm.

He also addresses how this medium differs to traditional forms of marketing, why podcasts are useful for meeting regulatory compliance, and what he predicts the financial advice space will look like over the next decade.