Arnie Selvarajah
Three key themes will shape modern financial advisory firms in 2023 and determine their growth trajectory, according to a new paper released by Desktop Broker, the wealth management arm of Bell Direct.
Success in the next few years will hinge on an advisory firm’s ability to promote the benefits of a career in financial planning and attract talent; team up with the right business partners; and evolve their business model to capture opportunities arising from regulatory change, based on Desktop Broker’s paper, Advice trends and opportunities: 2023 and beyond.
According to Arnie Selvarajah, Bell Direct Chief Executive Officer, changing economic conditions, Australia’s ageing population and regulatory tailwinds will underpin demand for professional advice and drive business momentum.
“There is so much opportunity for advisers to grow their business but there are three fundamental building blocks that must be in place first to ensure a rock solid foundation,” he said.
“The right people and culture is key but there is a war for talent going on right now so advisers need to sell a career in advice and get creative about the benefits and flexibility they offer. Even then, every business has finite resources so they need to leverage the capabilities and expertise of trusted service providers to help them evolve and execute their strategy.”
Drawing on insights from Desktop Broker’s large clientbase of financial advisory firms, the paper examines the attributes and actions of the most successful businesses.
Generally speaking, the most profitable and efficient businesses are big users of technology and they have been able to derive scale benefits by enhancing the way they deliver advice and investment solutions, said Tim Sparks, Bell Direct Head of Distribution and Marketing.
“With increasing economic uncertainty, advisers are focused on adding value in the areas within their control such as budgeting and cashflow management, portfolio management and retirement planning. We are seeing the increasing adoption of managed accounts as advisers seek to drive efficiencies, better manage their exposure to risk and deliver a better client experience,” he said.
“The return of inflation has also sparked a rethink of advice models. We’re seeing traditional stockbrokers and private client advisers move into strategic financial advice because they recognise that it is going to get harder and harder to outperform under current market conditions.”