AFA has success in building links legal and accounting professions.

A sell-out Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Christmas event in South Australia is proof the AFA is building strong collegial links with both the legal and accounting professions.

AFA State Director of South Australia, Dave Slovinec said the AFA issued set numbers of tickets to both the Young Lawyers: The Law Society of South Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and both allocations were sold out well ahead of the event which was held last Friday, 29 November in Adelaide.

“We had to move venues this year in order to accommodate a total of 350 professionals,” Mr Slovinec said. “This is a great endorsement of the initiatives the AFA is taking to encourage strong relationships between complementary professions.”

Many AFA members have already established very strong, long-standing relationships with other professionals as a result of the events.

“We believe each profession has expertise that is necessary for a seamless and successful advice process. In order to deliver great advice to more Australians, we believe it is important that as professionals, we all support each other and recognize the valuable role each of us plays,” Mr Slovinec said.

The SA Christmas event was supported by a number of corporate sponsors and all profits from the event will be donated to the South Australian charity Little Heroes Foundation.

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Brad Fox

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has welcomed the Government’s announcement which unwind some of previous Labor Government’s taxation changes, including taxes on individual superannuation pension earnings over $100,000 and the $2,000 cap on self-education.

“In consultation with our adviser members and other stakeholders, it was obvious that the tax on superannuation earnings over $100,000 would likely cost more to administer than it would earn in revenue,” AFA CEO, Brad Fox said. “It was always going to be problematic to enforce.  The Coalition change is a positive, practical move that will help to improve stability and confidence around superannuation.”

The announcement on scrapping the cap on self-education costs is also welcome Mr Fox said.

“It is time Australia relied less on being the lucky country and we applied ourselves more to becoming the smart country,” he said. “Investing in self-education is a core element of professional behaviour and should be encouraged, rather than discouraged.”

Mr Fox said abandoning the cap means that more advisers will seek even higher education which will further enable them to deliver great advice for more Australians.

“We appreciate how quickly the Government has dealt with these issues and we look forward to continuing consulting with them,” Mr Fox said.

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AFA to use tv and social media campaign to raise awareness.

A new initiative aimed at increasing consumer access to quality financial advice will change the way the financial advice profession communicates its value proposition, following the launch this week of Your Best Interests by the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and evolution media group (emg) at the annual AFA Conference on the Gold Coast.

“This is a game changer for financial advisers – we are going to fundamentally change the conversation around what advice is and what it can do for consumers,” said AFA CEO, Brad Fox. “Consumers will finally have the opportunity to tell their own stories in their own way via a national reality television series and online community and financial advisers will have the opportunity to demonstrate how financial advice can help them.”

Mr Fox said experts from across the financial services industry will come together on Your Best Interests to help lift the understanding of what financial advice is all about.

“Your Best Interests will help Australians connect with good advice and make the right choices when dealing with life’s defining moments,” he said. “The initiative has already secured strong support from foundation partners across the industry.”

To generate awareness and grow the Your Best Interests community, the AFA and emg have launched an extensive TV, radio and social media campaign, asking consumers to share their big moment and have the opportunity to win $5,000.

Radio morning shows Jonesy and Amanda (WSFM 101.7) and Sami Lukis and Yumi Stynes (Mix 106.5) are promoting the series and casting call and TV promotions will run on 7 Digital over four weeks. The full reality TV and web series will launch early in 2014, featuring competition winners and selected adviser and industry experts.

“Life is full of defining moments,” said emg Managing Director, Marcus Field. “These are the experiences that connect us all as people. From having kids, to kids leaving the nest, we’re going to bring to life the stories of real Australians and how advice can help make the most of those moments.

The TV, content marketing and social media campaigns will drive consumers to the Your Best Interests web platform, which will contain tips, tools and content designed to help them with their big moments from Your Best Interests partners.

“It’s time we reframed the conversation between consumers and financial advisers and showed Australia how great advice can transform lives,” Mr Field said.

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Jenny Brown

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA)’s most prestigious accolade – the AFA Adviser of the Year Award (the Award) – has been presented to Jenny Brown from JBS Financial Strategists.

The Award recognises advisers who demonstrate outstanding leadership, advocacy and innovation.

Speaking at the Gala Dinner at the AFA Conference on the Gold Coast last night, AFA CEO, Brad Fox said the AFA is very pleased to announce Ms Brown as the overall winner and said the future of the financial advice profession is set to thrive with her as a role model.

“Jenny is an outstanding inspiration for other advisers and we believe that through her leadership and mentoring roles she will help the advice profession to develop, mature and prosper,” he said.

Ms Brown, who was also nominated for the Award in 2012, is Head of Strategy, Senior Financial Adviser and Owner of JBS Financial Strategists in Melbourne. She is an active member of the AFA community, mentoring a young adviser in the AFA’s mentoring program and is also a dynamic member of the AFA Inspire – Connecting Women in Advice program.

Mr Fox said the standard of nominations and finalists for this Award was outstanding and a true testament to financial advice maturing as a profession. “We believe that by recognising the talents of the best financial advisers in Australia and sharing these with the broader community we will create the environment where great advice can be provided to more Australians,” he said.

Mr Fox also thanked Zurich for their ongoing support of the Award, now in its 11^th year.

Philip Kewin, GM Retail Life & Investments from award partner Zurich said, “Zurich is committed to championing those elite advisers who go above and beyond the call of duty for their clients and the profession and are proud to have supported the AFA’s Adviser of the Year Award since its inception in 2003. We congratulate Jenny on her dedication to the industry as a professional and good corporate citizen.”

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Catherine Robson

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and TAL are pleased to announce that Catherine Robson of Affinity Private is the 2013 winner of the AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award (the Award).

Ms Robson will receive a handcrafted trophy, formal certificate of recognition and a full scholarship to complete an executive leadership course at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) in Sydney.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said Ms Robson is a deserving winner of the Award and personifies the high calibre of female financial advisers nominated for the Award and their commitment to their profession, their clients and their communities.

“Catherine is passionate about the value of financial advice and is a fantastic role model for other women, both in the profession and wanting to join the profession,” he said.

Mr Fox also said the Award is going a long way towards helping the industry attract more women to seek a career as a financial adviser, whilst also demonstrating to consumers that the profession is committed to helping address the gender-specific financial challenges that Australian women face.

“It is our hope that people recognise that when it comes to financial advice, there is now an increasing number of female advisers who can help them,” he said. “We also want to ensure that consumers understand that our profession recognises that female consumers have unique financial advice needs and that financial advisers can help them meet those needs.”

Brett Clark, TAL Life CEO, spoke of the importance of the initiative in raising the profile of financial advice as a career choice for women.

“We would like to see more women entering the financial advice profession and initiatives such as the Female Excellence in Advice Award play an important part in recognising the vital role women play in our industry. The more women we can encourage to become financial advisers, the greater impact we will have in helping more Australian women achieve financial wellbeing and protection.”

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The Award is a ‘Best and Fairest’ accolade named in honour of the late Michael Murphy who in 2009 became the inaugural winner of the Award. A long-standing and valued member of the AFA, Mr Murphy lost his battle with cancer last year.

AFA CEO Brad Fox said, “Hugh has been an enthusiastic supporter of the AFA with over 42 years of membership and his contribution to the financial advice profession provides an outstanding example to the industry.”

Mr Fox said Mr Crawford’s commitment to his clients, his business and his profession are a shining light on the industry. “He has lived and breathed the AFA’s ethos which is to lead, support and inspire members of the advice profession in order to build, manage and protect the wealth of everyday Australians. Now that Hugh is entering retirement the AFA is immensely proud to acknowledge his four decades of commitment and service.”

Mr Crawford is an industry stalwart, an adviser of over 40 years standing and life member of the AFA. A past AFA Treasurer, Mr Crawford also served and has sat on numerous AFA committees most recently as Chairman and NSW/ACT representative on the AFA Investment Fund Trustee Board (the “Fund”).

“Hugh’s contribution via the AFA Investment Fund should be fully acknowledged. Under his leadership, the Fund has successfully built a financial foundation that will support the AFA for a very long time into the future. The AFA Investment Fund owns outright the head office premises of the AFA, as well as other investments, and Hugh has been instrumental in leading an agreement between the AFA and the Investment Fund to continue to grow this financial reserve for the security and benefit of the AFA’s members in the years ahead. Our great mate Michael Murphy would be proud to have bestowed this recognition on Hugh Crawford,” Mr Fox said.

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Advisers must tailor their advice to the different generations.

Financial advisers must tailor their communication strategies to suit the needs of each individual generation.

This is the central finding of Connecting with Clients, a white paper released today by the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) with the support of Zurich, based on research conducted by the Beddoes Institute.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox said advisers who communicate in line with their client’s preferred communication channels achieve higher client satisfaction levels, have stronger client relationships and have clients who are more likely to refer the adviser’s business to family and friends.

“Our key finding is that not all forms of communication are created equal,” Mr Fox said. “There are different preferences between different generations of clients and there are tangible performance outcomes for advice practices that get the mix right.”

Mr Fox said that as the advice arena moves into the digital age, there is a growing preference for digital forms of communication, particularly in the one-to-many space. “This helps the advice practice keep a more frequent relationship with clients, and we know from the paper that this is one of the keys to client satisfaction.”

Anther important finding is that personal emails are the preferred method of one-on-one communication for all generations. “That said, baby boomers like it less than the younger generations and Gen Y prefer it a little less than Gen X,” Mr Fox said.

All the generations also want to meet with their advisers face-to-face, however while Gen Y prefer catch-ups – for example over coffee – to more formal meetings at the adviser’s office, baby boomers want more formality.

“A baby boomer’s preference for informal catch‐ups, or even for formal meetings in their own home or workplace, is very low compared to other generations,” Mr Fox said.

The Beddoes Institute’s Dr Rebecca Sheils said the results suggest that a ‘more is more’ effect is consistent across ages, with clients in all three generations reporting higher satisfaction with practices that communicate via a larger number of channels.

“All generations want personal email communication to varying degrees but they also want their advisers to connect with them in other ways, including face-to-face,” she said.

Richard Dunkerley, Zurich’s Head of Marketing and co-author of the paper said the findings around social media usage closely mirrored figures previously released by Zurich showing exponential growth in the use of social platforms by advisers.

“The findings also make it clear that there is an increasing preference for people to access content through their mobile device,” he said, “and to the extent that apps help improve the user experience, we expect the development of adviser specific apps to be a massive growth area.”

Connecting with Clients reports on the communication preferences of a total of 530 clients of leading financial advice practices who participated in the Client Experience Survey (the Survey). The Survey is part of The Beddoes Institute’s Leading Practices Program, conducted in August 2013 on behalf of the 10 short‐listed advisers from the 2013 AFA Adviser of the Year Award.  A comprehensive list of 20 different communication methods currently used by financial advisers in their businesses was used in the Survey.

To optimize the value from this white paper to financial advisers, we have developed an online resource centre to help advisers put the findings of the white paper into practice. Among other things, it will provide updates, case studies, video interviews and an online course.

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Ravi Agarwal

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and ANZ Global Wealth have announced Ravi Agarwal of MEDIQ Financial Services as the AFA’s 2013 Rising Star.

The AFA Rising Star of the Year Award (the Award), supported by ANZ Global Wealth, recognises talented advisers who have been practicing for three years or less, who provide quality financial advice; demonstrate a commitment to education and make a valuable contribution to their profession and to their community.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said Mr Agarwal is an excellent role model for advisers entering the profession.

“Ravi has established himself as a highly educated, hard-working and trustworthy financial adviser and is a great example of the younger advisers that are building enviable careers in financial advice,” he said. “We are pleased to recognize Ravi’s great work as a professional adviser, his community contribution via his pro bono work and his role as a financial educator within his target market.”

Mr Fox said Mr Agarwal specializes in servicing medical professionals and has emerged as one of the leading financial advisers in this niche. “Ravi has built a strong business in a short period of time and has demonstrated strong commitment to continuing professional education. He is a great example to others in the way that he is investing in himself, and his business.”

Neil Younger, General Manager Advice and Open Market Channels at ANZ Global Wealth said, “Ravi is a deserving winner and was a true standout from his peers. All six advisers nominated for the Award however were outstanding and should be extremely proud of their achievements to date. We are excited about seeing each of them develop as future role models for other new financial advisers.”

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Brad Fox

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) will be welcoming the youngest ever delegate to the AFA National Conference next month on the Gold Coast.

Lara Markham, the 16-year-old daughter of Terese Markham, Financial Planner at Macey & Associates Pty Ltd, will be attending the conference, along with her grandfather John Macey, to find out more about the dynamic financial services industry she wants to join.

Brad Fox, AFA CEO, said he is delighted to have three generations of the one family attend the AFA National Conference this year. “It will be a fantastic opportunity for the AFA to encourage more young people into the industry and to demonstrate the benefits of a career in financial advice,” he said. “It will also be a chance for Lara to connect with other young people particularly from our GenXt and Campus AFA networks, and to make some life-long friends who can help her along her journey to joining the profession.”

Lara’s mother, Terese said she is very excited that her daughter is considering following in her family’s footsteps. “Financial planning is a very big part of our family,” she said. “My father, John Macey, joined the industry in 1971 and is still involved. He has been an AFA member for too long to remember, right back to the Life Underwriters Association days.”

Mr Fox said there will be no shortage of great opportunities for Lara and other delegates at this year’s conference with over 90 speakers and a jam-packed entertainment program.

“The aim of the AFA National Conference is to help give delegates a clear view of what best practice looks like going forward and to bring participants from all dimensions of the financial advice space together to share experiences and connect as a community,” he said. “With a focus on the Age of Consumers, this is a great chance to get together and plan for the future, just like the three generations of the Macey/Markham family are doing.”

To find out more and to register your place at the AFA Conference from 12-15 October, please visit the AFA Conference Website.

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Brad Fox

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has named the finalists in the prestigious 2013 AFA Adviser of the Year Award (the Award), proudly supported by Zurich.

The Award, now in its 11^th year, recognises leadership, advocacy and innovation in the financial services industry and is proving there is no shortage of professional financial advisers striving for success at an individual and industry level.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said the six finalists had undergone a rigorous 360-degree assessment process. “The finalists are judged on education, experience and contribution to the industry,” he said.

This includes elements such as the use of technology and processes in their business, their client feedback process, complaints handling procedures, business cashflow management and business planning techniques.

“This is an opportunity to not only recognize the outstanding abilities of the final six, but also to acknowledge the significant number of nominations for the Award from right across Australia,” Mr Fox said. “The nominations are becoming more difficult to judge each year, with many more advisers demonstrating their skills and talents and providing an example for others to emulate.”

Colin Morgan, CEO of Zurich’s Life and Investments business, sponsors of the Award since its inception in 2003, said the industry has experienced significant change and this year’s finalists demonstrate the exceptional standard of advice that continues to be delivered to clients.

“The finalists have seemingly done the impossible, adapting to a changing environment while continuing to reach the pinnacle of professional self-development and client centricity,” he said. “Zurich is delighted to continue championing adviser excellence by sponsoring the Award for the 11^th year running.”

The 2013 AFA Adviser of the Year will be announced on Tuesday, 15 October 2013 at the AFA National Conference at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast.

The six finalists are:

• Justine Back, Back to Back Financial Planners, New South Wales
• Jenny Brown, JBS Financial Strategists, Victoria
• Kylie Wright, Ulton Financial Planning, Queensland
• Mark Rando, Rando & Associates, Western Australia
• Rory Mooney, Wealth By Design, South Australia
• William Bracey, Sydney Financial Planning, New South Wales

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