David Sarkis

iExtend has launched the iExchange Forums, a national assembly designed to bring together like-minded advisers from across Australia to provide an opportunity to connect and to advocate industry solutions to current industry challenges.

The iExchange Forums encapsulates how iExtend will continue to work with advisers, in a collaborative manner, to ensure the best outcome for policyholders. iExtend has hosted iExchange Forum launch events in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth and this week, will launch the Forum in Adelaide.

Already more than 40 licensees and privately owned businesses have attended these events, creating a foundation member group of over 80 risk advisers across Australia. The Forums have been well received by advisers who  have valued the opportunity to build their network, collaborate and discuss how insurance can be better viewed as an asset rather than a liability.

“It is great to have like-minded advisers in the one room who are positive about the future and yet bring deep experience with them,” said Don Trapnell, former Synchron Chairman and current Director, Llenpart Financial and Founding Member of iExchange Forum, Melbourne

“iExtend is bringing together advisers in forums that are educational, positive and social and where advisers can listen to each other,” said Nowak Financial Services Director and former AFA President Michael Nowak and Founding Member of iExchange Forum, Brisbane

“The iExtend Exchange Forums are a new, adviser-focussed way to catch up with fellow advisers who are seeing similar challenges to you and who can provide insights on how they are responding to them,” said Reece Keys, Financial Adviser, Solace Financial House Financial Adviser and Founding Member of iExchange Forum, Brisbane

To date, the national events have showcased CPD accredited presentations from Strategy Consultant and former Zurich/One Path Risk Strategy expert Mark Neil, iExtend CEO David Sarkis and iExtend Head of Distribution, Protip DasGupta.

According to iExtend CEO David Sarkis, advisers are looking to connect face-to-face, to compare stories and experiences and to leverage their great skill.

“The insurance operating environment is very complex and stressful right now with a number of issues hurting policyholders, and financial advisers are having to deal with this. The Forums provide a unique setting for them to come together and discuss new approaches and what is working.”

Over the coming months, iExtend will attend a number of industry events, PD days and Licensee days as it continues to inform and educate the advice market on its offer. iExtend is currently operating under a Corporate Authorised Representative licence while it awaits its Australian Financial Services Licence from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

iExtend’s Head of Distribution Protip DasGupta said advisers are key in assisting Australians make good choices about their life insurance, particularly when they are under pressure with health changes and financial pressures.

“Financial advisers are central to helping Australians manage and retain their life insurance policies. iExtend has been working closely with them to ensure they understand how iExtend works, and how our proposition can help the policyholders, advisers and insurers, overall enhancing the sustainability of the life insurance industry.”

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Michael Harrison

Highly-respected business strategist and former Synchron Independent Chair, Michael Harrison, passed away in Melbourne on Sunday morning, 21 May 2023, after a long illness. He was 78.

Mr Harrison worked closely with Synchron from 2007, when he was appointed Synchron’s business strategy and marketing consultant. He then served as Chair from April 2011 until the sale of the group to WT Financial last year.

Long-time colleague and friend, Don Trapnell, said Mr Harrison made an enormous contribution to Synchron, and in many ways helped reinvent the business.

‘With his help, we transformed Synchron into one of the largest non-institutionally owned licensees in the country and a preferred dealer group for both younger advisers and our traditional network of older advisers,’ he said.

‘He was one of the main instigators of our ground-breaking NextGen bootcamp for young advisers and industry participants, and he went with me to the UK in 2015, to uncover the real story in relation to life insurance commissions in that part of the world.’

Mr Trapnell said he believes the findings he and Mr Harrison brought back from the UK informed debate on the issue of risk remuneration in Australia and helped shape the future.

Mr Harrison was also instrumental in Synchron’s legal battle against the State Revenue Office (SRO) of Victoria over the imposition of payroll tax on the earnings of financial advice practices that did not employ two or more people.

‘It was Michael who successfully led that fight, saving not only Synchron, but potentially all licensees across the industry, from a hefty payroll tax bill that could have had a profound negative impact on their businesses,’ he said.

‘He was not just committed to Synchron’s success, but to the ongoing success of financial advisers, particularly risk-focussed advisers. He deeply understood the financial services landscape and the drivers of change. I greatly respected his business acumen and will profoundly miss his friendship.’

In the early 80s, Mr Harrison established Australia’s first private bank. He also served three terms as Deputy Lord Mayor of Adelaide and, over the course of his long career, sat on government and private company boards, including the Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

Mr Harrison consulted to numerous clients including Citibank, the STAR Alliance Network, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Zurich Financial Services, where, in 1997, he was charged with the responsibility of reinventing Zurichʼs Australian life insurance business.

He was also the author of three books, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, and a Life Member of the Million Dollar Round Table.

Mr Harrison is survived by his wife, Pam, and five children, and will be farewelled at a private family funeral, as per his final wishes.

Mr Trapnell has prepared a video tribute to Mr Harrison which can be viewed via the following link:

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Don Trapnell

WT Financial Group Limited (WTL) has announced the acquisition of high profile, non-institutionally-owned licensee, Synchron.

Synchron founders Don Trapnell and John Prossor will continue working in the business with Mr Trapnell assuming the role of chairman of WTL’s Synchron subsidiary.

The move follows WTL’s acquisition last year of the Sentry Group and continues the listed company’s growth strategy. The WTL adviser network, which also includes the licensee group, Wealth Today, will emerge with more than 600 advisers and increase funds under advice to in excess of $16Bn following the Acquisition.

The total vendor consideration for the Acquisition is up to $7.96M, payable over two years in a combination of cash and WTL shares, and subject to various terms and conditions.

WTL will assume liabilities of circa $3M and expects to incur transaction and integration costs of between $1-2M, bringing the anticipated total value of the Acquisition to $12-13M.

Synchron Director, Don Trapnell said, “Synchron has a long and proud history as a licensee that values its people. In the process we have built a strong, close community of advisers with a unique culture.”

Mr Trapnell said that WTL understands this culture and embraces the same values. “We thought very carefully about the cultural fit, and we are delighted that the Synchron we all know will continue,” he said.

“This is a pivotal moment in our history, one which will allow us to equip Synchron advisers for an exciting future in financial advice, while also positioning us for growth, and ongoing leadership of the industry as a licensee.”

The Synchron name will remain and all scheduled Synchron events will proceed as planned.

“As we move into a post-pandemic world, and new opportunities emerge, this is the right fit for Synchron, at the right time,” Mr Trapnell said.

WTL Managing Director, Keith Cullen, said the Acquisition cements WTL as the largest non-institutionally-owned, non-product-producing financial adviser network in Australia.

“It establishes the right scale of operations to enable us to provide the critical support that advisers in our modernised industry demand. The resulting scale will set the course for future expansion and more depth in our offerings for advisers,” he said.

“Thanks to the Acquisition structure, the Synchron founders will maintain investment exposure to Synchron by holding shares in WTL as we continue to advance as a leader in the Australian financial advice sector.”

Mr Cullen said WTL will be enhanced through the addition of Synchron’s state manager line, adding significant experience and resources to the broader group operations to support the Company’s advisers across its Wealth Today and Sentry groups.

Synchron’s NextGen program, which supports the professional development of younger advisers, will also be rolled out right across the group. The program has helped reduce the average age of Synchron advisers to 47.

“Synchron advisers will benefit from the rollout of WTL’s adviser education and training programs, its comprehensive practice management tools and programs, and its enhanced risk management framework,” Mr Cullen said.

With millennial inheritance from 2020-2040 forecast to reach $3,500Bn, superannuation assets expected to double by 2029, and the largest cohort ever to enter age care, Mr Cullen said demand for advice will continue to grow across Australia.

“The landscape within the financial advice sector has a strong outlook, and the synergies created from the Acquisition position us for further growth.”

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Phil Osborne

Synchron has appointed Phil Osborne as General Manager, Compliance, effective 1 February 2022. Mr Osborne has been working with Synchron as a Compliance Consultant since July 2021.

Mr Osborne holds Masters’ qualifications in both Commerce (majoring in financial planning) and Law (majoring in enterprise governance). He also holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and has been a director and responsible manager for a number of financial services licensees.

Synchron Director, Don Trapnell said, “Phil has over 30 years’ experience in financial services and, having also previously managed financial planning practices and provided financial advice himself, has an exceptional understanding of the demands on financial advisers and the vital role they play in helping ordinary Australians take control of their financial affairs.”

Mr Osborne has held various roles with numerous financial services businesses, including Lifestyle Asset Management, the SMSF Advisers Network, and Interprac Financial Planning, following his entry to the financial advice industry through AMP and Hillross Financial Services.

Mr Osborne reports directly to the Synchron Board and heads a compliance team which includes Alison Massey, Head of Compliance – Advice Assurance. He will also be working closely with the Head of Compliance – Policy and Regulatory, Hanna Abdullah.

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Terry Johnson

Synchron adviser, Terry Johnson from Keyman Financial Services in NSW, has won an inaugural AFA Great Advice Award (the Award).

Don Trapnell, Director of Synchron said, “We congratulate Terry on winning the NSW state Award. Terry is a risk specialist who has been a highly valued member of the Synchron community of advisers since 2018.”

Mr Johnson has been in the industry for more than 20 years and has built a business that puts the claim outcome front and centre.

“We give advice as if our client is going on claim tomorrow,” Mr Johnson said. “We believe that the true worth of a risk specialist adviser is only really tested at claim time, the rest is the pre-game.”

In announcing Mr Johnson’s win at the AFA’s recent EVOLVE conference AFA National President, Michael Nowak, said, “Terry has many claim stories of which to be proud. Not only has he administered pro bono claims, but he always shows the utmost care to his clients when they need it the most.”

Mr Johnson said, “I want it to be as easy for the mum and dad and tradie with three kids and a mortgage to access affordable insurance advice as and when they need it, as it is for a CEO or high income earner, if not more so.”

Keyman Financial Services is a small family business, now operating in the NSW Hawkesbury region. Mr Johnson’s adult children, Benjamin and Mia, are employed in the business and both are currently undertaking their Professional Year.

Mr Johnson appeared with Synchron at the Standing Committee on Economics (the Committee) in July 2021, where he spoke about the impact of over-regulation on advisers and on inflows, which ultimately led to increasing premiums resulting in fewer people holding onto or taking out life insurance.

“It is a self-feeding cycle…that needs a circuit breaker,” he said at the time, “and it needs it urgently.”

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Don Trapnell

Synchron is offering Synchron advisers and Synchron staff a $100 Bunnings gift voucher if they have both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a letter to the Synchron community, Director Don Trapnell said that Synchron believes the best way for Australia to return to a life that reflects life before the pandemic is for as many Australians as possible to get vaccinated.

“COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on the health and prosperity of the world and although Australia has been thankfully largely spared, we are not immune, as evidenced by the current outbreak and extended lockdowns in Melbourne,” he said. “Synchron’s directors and chair have each received the first dose of the vaccine and we will be proceeding to the second dose, within the prescribed timeframe.”

Mr Trapnell strongly encouraged the Synchron community to visit their doctor to find out which COVID-19 vaccine is right for them. “We understand that getting vaccinated takes time out of their day and away from their work, but we think it’s worth it,” he said.

The $100 Bunnings gift voucher will be given to Synchron advisers and Synchron staff upon proof that they have received both doses of the vaccine. Proof may include a Medicare vaccination report or any other proof, such as a letter from their General Practitioner.

“This is a potential investment by Synchron in the health of its community of up to $50,000, but we consider it a matter of good corporate citizenship,” Mr Trapnell said. “It is a small price to pay if it encourages our people to get vaccinated, and in the process contributes to the future ongoing health and prosperity of Australians, and helps restore the freedoms of Australia.”

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In announcing the appointment, Synchron Director, Don Trapnell said, “Ben began working in financial services in 2005, and was most recently a Business Development Manager with Challenger Limited in Brisbane. He brings with him an enormous amount of enthusiasm for the industry and a passion for adviser engagement.”

Mr Donohue’s career in financial services began with ING. He then spent over 12 years in business development roles with Asteron Life before joining Challenger. He has experience in retail life insurance, retirement income and aged care, and holds a Bachelor of Business (International Business) from the Queensland University of Technology, as well as an Advanced Diploma Financial Services from Kaplan Australia.

“I very much look forward to working with Synchron’s Queensland advice firms,” Mr Donohue said. “Domiciled from Cairns to the Gold Coast, Synchron’s Queensland advisers are delivering outstanding client outcomes, ranging from child cover to aged care. I’m very pleased that I will be helping them to further build and develop their practices, and make the most of the many opportunities available in the current environment.”

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Don Trapnell

Synchron is issuing an urgent call to life insurers to clarify how they will treat policies that lapse, change ownership, change premium structure, or need corrections, under the new Unfair Contract Terms (UCT) regime, due to come into effect on 5 April, 2020.

Synchron Director, Don Trapnell, said, “Our understanding is that lapsed policies, policies that change ownership – for example from inside to outside super and the other way round, a change from level to stepped premiums and even simple typo corrections to a policy, will mean the policy has to be rewritten, which under the new regime means a new contract.”

Mr Trapnell said he was alerted by a Synchron adviser that insurers are responding in different ways to the new regime and so clarification is necessary.

“If, for example, a policy lapses, will the insurer treat the ‘new’ contract as a replacement policy, or will they take advantage of the new regime to force policyholders into a completely new policy? If so, will the policyholder have to have medical underwriting? Will they be forced onto a different premium structure? Will they lose a key benefit not available in the new policy?”

Mr Trapnell said the way life insurers respond may compound Australia’s underinsurance problem.

“One of the big worries here is if we have tougher reinstatement, or additional underwriting, more policies will lapse, leaving more people without the protection they need,” he said. “That’s a very poor outcome for Australia and for Australians.”

He said the flow-on effect of tougher reinstatement is there would likely be a massive spike in lapse data, which would obviously increase Life Insurance Framework lapse rates.

“In the best interests of policyholders and to assist the advisers who work with them, we believe life insurers must now publicly share how they intend to deal with this issue.”

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Ms Congdon joins Synchron after 10 years as a Business Development Manager with MLC Life Insurance, where she worked on the Synchron account. She also worked for a period of time as an insurance adviser.

Announcing the appointment of Ms Congdon, which was effective Monday 26 October, 2020, Synchron Director Don Trapnell said, “We are delighted to welcome Sarah to the Synchron team. Sarah has extensive industry experience and an excellent understanding of insurance, financial advice and practice development. She is also a 2017 NextGen graduate and a highly-valued member of the Synchron community.”

Ms Congdon started her career in 2002 as an insurance specialist with the Commonwealth Bank in Mildura, Victoria and also worked in London as a senior secretary for Morgan Stanley in 2007-08. She holds a Bachelor of Science and Business, Mathematics and Economics from Flinders University and has a particular interest and expertise in business insurance.

Ms Congdon said, “I have always been impressed by the Synchron culture, the sense of community and inclusiveness amongst its staff and advisers and the integrity of its management team. I’m already enjoying working with Synchron’s Victorian advisers, who have shown a refreshing willingness to support each other and share ideas. I’m really looking forward to helping them explore opportunities that further grow and develop their practices.”

Ms Congdon succeeds Jason Milosevski, who has been Victorian State Manager since 2015.

Mr Trapnell said, “Jason has made a very valuable contribution to Synchron, introducing innovative ways for the Synchron community to connect, including our adviser Mastermind sessions. He leaves with our very best wishes for the future.”

Mr Milosevski’s resignation is effective Friday 30 October 2020.

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Don Trapnell

Life insurance advice delivered in line with the Best Interests Duty is not always in the consumer’s best interests according to Synchron Director, Don Trapnell.

Synchron is calling for the Best Interests Duty to be scrapped for life insurance advisers, in favour of a requirement to provide appropriate advice.

Mr Trapnell said the Best Interests Duty forces life insurance advisers to go through an extensive needs analysis process and produce a statement of advice covering off the client’s financial situation, even if all the client wants is to increase their life insurance cover for a specific need.

“It’s not the fault of their advisers, but clients are likely being over-serviced and consequently overcharged because of legislation brought in by a Government that appears to believe Australians are too stupid to know what they want, need and can afford in terms of life insurance advice. Australians are not stupid and should be free to choose,” he said.

Mr Trapnell argued that in seeking to protect people from themselves, the Government has legislated away the right to choose. “It is the very definition of a nanny state,” he said.

While the life insurance advice clients currently receive might be in line with the Best Interests Duty, Mr Trapnell said that because it cannot be limited to just the advice they seek, it is likely to be more expensive than they expect and as a result, they might be reluctant to act upon it, and reluctant to seek further advice when they need it.

“Ironically, the advice may therefore not be in the client’s best interests at all,” he said. “A much better approach would be a requirement for life insurance advisers to provide appropriate advice – that is, advice that is in line with the advice the client is actually seeking, and actually needs.”

If the Best Interests Duty is not scrapped for life insurance advisers, Mr Trapnell believes advice may become beyond the reach of many people who would then be forced to buy policies direct via the phone or internet, or not at all.

“This is likely to ultimately see fewer people appropriately insured and the social security burden on the Government further increase. And as I have said before, that is not in anyone’s best interests.”

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