In this episode of The ifa show, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic and Matt Esler, co-founder and co-CEO of Padua, explore how financial advisers can maximise the potential of their CRM systems.

He emphasises that while CRMs are powerful tools, their effectiveness hinges on the quality of data input.

Esler also discusses the importance of personalisation in client relationships, leveraging tools like Padua’s Discover and Research Manager to enhance the accuracy and relevance of financial advice.

He concludes by reaffirming the evolving role of paraplanners, who will become more strategic in delivering better, faster advice.

Don’t miss Esler’s expert tips on refining your CRM for greater success.

• CRM data gaps: CRM data often has gaps, limiting its effectiveness.
• Personalisation: Tools like Discover help personalise advice and updates.
• Client relationships: Better data leads to stronger client engagement and outcomes.
• Future trends: Embracing new tech and ISO-certified tools for enhanced financial insights.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by Lana Clark, founder of GSD Lab and senior consultant at Elixir Consulting, powered by VBP, to take an in-depth look at some of the key findings from the firm’s recently released Advice Operations Research Report.

Clark breaks down the ingredients that make up the secret sauce of great advice firm operations, explaining the areas that the research found make the largest contribution to successful firms and how practice principals can ensure the business is ready for the future.

Listen as they discuss:

• The importance of separating the role of practice manager as quickly as possible.
• How building a good culture is harder than it seems but is vital to business success.
• Why nailing down bulletproof processes within an advice firm is a fundamental step.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by Neil Younger, CEO of Entireti, to discuss the firm’s recently announced strategic partnership that will see Entireti take a majority stake in AMP’s three licensees and the Jigsaw offering. Younger explains how the move will impact the advisers moving across as well as what the deal means for the broader advice landscape. He also covers what the future looks like for licensees, and whether this period of consolidation among the larger licensees is set to continue.

Listen as they discuss:

• Why the growing trend of firms self-licensing is a positive when done for the right reasons.
• What the upcoming second tranche of advice legislation needs to include.
• How the CSLR is affecting the advice community and whether it can be fixed.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by Ryan Watson, chief executive of Tribeca Financial, to discuss the importance of bringing more advisers into the profession and why he believes there is currently an incredible opportunity to help people through financial advice.   Watson covers the advice firm’s recent expansion with a new Sydney office, how Tribeca goes about attracting talent, and why growth and removing friction from the advice process is an opportunity to help more Australians access a financial adviser.   Listen as they discuss:

• Why there has never been a better time to be in financial advice.
• The freedom, flexibility, and responsibilities that come with holding an AFSL.
• Why value-based pricing and truly client-centric advice is the best way forward.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by Ben Marshan, director of Marshan Consulting, to break down how the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms will impact advisers and how they can look beyond the shifting regulatory landscape to improve their businesses. Marshan explains how the ongoing financial services reforms have stacked on top of each other to create the unwieldy situation the sector finds itself in, and why streamlining labyrinthine regulation could be an impossible task.

Listen as they discuss:

• How advisers can help their clients find purpose as they enter retirement.
• Why a new class of advisers shouldn’t be viewed as an attack on professional advisers.
• The importance of cutting down on unnecessary compliance steps that are no longer needed.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by Matt Hale, senior financial planner and director at Rising Tide Financial Services, to discuss where the advice profession is heading and the pressures that are impacting the provision of advice.

 

Hale explains how Rising Tide found its core client base and moulded its offering around their needs as well as the importance of attracting a younger cohort of advisers and the difficulties that can arise in doing so.

Listen as they discuss: • Why it is important to not get too wrapped up in regulatory changes until they actually happen. • How advice firms can look to improve business processes for greater efficiency. • The key role compliance plays when running an advice firm.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by experienced financial services executive Tony Beaven to take a look at the similarities and differences between the UK and Australian financial advice sectors – and what each can learn from one another. Beaven, who has worked in advice businesses across both countries, explains how the regulators across these jurisdictions work together to improve their processes and how the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK works could inform the future of Australian advice regulation.

Listen as they discuss:

• The place of robo-advice in reducing the advice gap.
• Why self-licensed advice firms need to fully understand the responsibilities that come along with it.
• How lowering the education benchmark for a new class of advisers could undermine professionalism.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by managing director of WT Financial Group Keith Cullen to discuss the recent passage of the first Delivering Better Financial Outcomes bill and the need to expand the advice profession. Cullen explains how advisers engaging with the political process delivered a tangible outcome in the amendments that were made to section 99FA, and why he believes the next tranche of legislation needs to include practical ways for advice firms to incorporate the proposed new class of advisers into their businesses.

Listen as they discuss:

• The Senate’s recent report on ASIC and its recommendation to overhaul the way the industry funding model operates.
• Why it is vital that the profession finds new ways to bring talent into advice.
• The case for licensees taking on a greater share of the ASIC levy.

On this week’s episode of The ifa Show, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic is joined by Matthew Rady, the chief executive officer at BT Financial Group, to discuss the evolution of BT and how its BT Panorama platform stands out in a competitive space. Tune in to hear insights on the importance of embracing digital as well as having a great culture, and how BT is utilising both aspects to enable a “people-oriented business”.

Listen as they discuss:

• How advisers can improve efficiency to service a greater number of clients.
• The changes within financial advice over the 10 years of BT Panorama.
• What to expect from the next decade as advisers contend with a changing landscape.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by Phil Anderson to discuss a range of pressing issues for the advice profession that are adding a cost burden to the provision of advice.

Anderson, who is the general manager of policy, advocacy and standards at the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA), explains the different mechanisms in how the CSLR and ASIC funding levies are calculated and paid, and why the upcoming RITC changes will impact advice clients.

Listen as they discuss:

• The push for greater consideration of tax deductibility for advice fees.
• Why the FAAA still wants the first DBFO bill to be passed quickly.
• The crunch of financial services legislation currently under consideration.