Brad Fox – CEO – AFA

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has hit the ground running, with the launch of the 2013 GenXt Road Show.

“The AFA’s theme this year is The Age of Consumers and the GenXt Road Show, which kicks off in Hobart on 5 February and also visits Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, provides us with the perfect opportunity to start the ball rolling,” said AFA CEO, Brad Fox.

As well as offering a sound program designed to help new advisers prepare for the year ahead, the AFA will also be presenting the initial findings of its latest research into consumer expectations of the financial advice experience. The research, due for launch later in February, is sponsored by AIA and powered by Business Health.

Over 1,400 advisers nationally are expected to attend the GenXt Road Show, which is now in it’s sixth year.

“The Road Show is a signature AFA event and seeks to ignite advisers, particularly newer advisers, for the year ahead,” Mr Fox said.  “It is a great opportunity to connect with peers and hear from some of the best practitioners in advice.”

Key presenters this year include the AFA’s 2012 Rising Star, Matt Hale and the AFA’s 2012 Excellence in Education Award Winner, Dean Lombardo.

“Matt and Dean are presenting a session called New Frontiers, in which they share the stories of their success with their peers,” Mr Fox said. “They are both outstanding examples of younger advisers; professional, successful and, importantly, willing to share their journeys with the market place.”

Mr Hale, of Financial Design for Life, is one of the new breed of financial advisers – a university-educated, career adviser with a disciplined advice process and a commitment to giving back to the community. He joined Financial Design for Life as an Assistant Adviser in 2007; began advising in mid 2009 and has been a board member of the Warwick Foundation since July 2010, helping cancer sufferers between the age of 18-40 through their journey

“What excites me professionally is providing financial advice to time-poor singles, young families and business owners in the areas of insurance, superannuation, investment and estate planning,” he said.  “I feel I can really help set these people up financially for life.”

Mr Lombardo co-founded Access Financial Management, based in Melbourne, and has developed a unique financial planning methodology known as ‘benchmarking’.

“What we believe we have done with ‘benchmarking’, is empowering our clients,” Mr Lombardo said. “Benchmarking helps shift the adviser-client relationship to one of true mentoring and coaching. I will be sharing with GenXt attendees how benchmarking, which uses accountable milestones and integrates adult learning theory, works in practice.”

The GenXt Road Show will also feature an optional FoFA Ready Master Class in most cities.
Presented by Mr Fox and AFA Chief Operating Officer, Phil Anderson, the Master Class is designed for advisers and licensees looking to understand the FoFA changes and position their business to be FoFA ready by 1 July 2013. The Master Class will also update attendees with insights from the AFA’s Pathways to Excellence Best Practice Research Paper, launched at the AFA National Conference last year.

To register for the AFA’s 2013 GenXt Road Show and Master Class, please click here.

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Over 200 attended the state-based events in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, including a number of previous participants who shared their experiences of the program. Of those attending, more than 40 advisers new to the industry were offered the opportunity to connect with more experienced advisers with a view to developing longer-term mentoring relationships.

National GenXt Mentor Coordinator, Chris Jones, said the Mentoring Program, which is in its fourth year, is a natural extension of the AFA’s GenXt Program, which aims to encourage young financial professionals to strive towards high levels of advisory skills, obtain robust industry knowledge and build long lasting professional connections.

“The Mentoring Program is a way for AFA members to gain new ideas for their business and to continually reinvest in themselves, their colleagues, their clients and, importantly, the financial advice community,” Mr Jones said.

Participating advisers have the opportunity to learn alternative ways of doing things and develop, or rekindle, the fundamental concepts that make great advisers.

“The Mentoring Program provides a framework for aspirant advisers to bridge the gap between technical knowledge and client engagement skills and apply those skills in real business scenarios,” said Mr Jones.

“Aspirant advisers are those who are new adviser to the industry – not necessarily young in years but someone who may benefit from the sharing of knowledge with a more experienced adviser.”

Mr Jones said the ability to tap into a mentor’s real experience gives aspirants the opportunity to develop new skills and expertise while providing access to independent and objective perspectives. It also helps build aspirant confidence to deal with challenges.

“Mentors also value the experience,” Mr Jones said, “because it provides them with the opportunity to gain fresh perspectives and reignite passion for their business; to learn and improve focus and embrace change. Many report feeling a sense of pride and pleasure in making a difference in the lives of others and giving back to an industry which has served them so well.”

Mr Jones said that the Mentoring Program has had great success in matching like-minded professionals. “This is evidenced by the fact that, while the ‘official’ obligation is for a 12 month period, in many cases, participants elect to continue their relationship.”

Sarah Riegelhuth, National Chair of GenXt, who has participated in the program as both an aspirant and a mentor said, “I grew so much as an adviser, a leader and a business owner by participating. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Chris and his team of co-ordinators have put a lot of effort year on year into developing the program. It’s always been strong, but this year it stepped up a whole new level, with a more detailed work book and YouTube videos for support along the way.”

Also evidence of the success of the program is that participants have gone on to win, or be finalists in, several of the AFA’s prestigious awards, including:

• AFA Adviser of the Year
• AFA Rising Star of the Year
• AFA Excellence in Education Award
• AFA Excellence in Female Advice

“Every Aspirant wishing to proceed is placed with a Mentor and we believe that, by sharing the knowledge and experience of AFA members collectively, we can provide better outcomes for our clients and demonstrate the positive impact that financial advice has in the community,” said Mr Jones.

“It is that shared passion for improving ourselves so as to provide better outcomes for our clients that will continue to see growth in confidence,
culture and the perception of what we do and the benefits we provide to our society.”

2 July 2012

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