Don Trapnell

In order to deliver advice that meets the needs of increasingly demanding clients and which meets more stringent compliance obligations, advisers must embrace technology, according to Synchron Director, Don Trapnell.

“Effective use of available technology is now critical in all aspects of the advice business,” Mr Trapnell said. “Using technology in the client engagement and education process, for example, is one of the ways advisers can ensure they are protecting both the client and themselves. We believe that by protecting the client, we protect the adviser and therefore adopting new practices in terms of technology is now essential in our compliance process.”

Mr Trapnell said technology is also essential in the marketing process, which is the reason Synchron engaged Tim Reid of Small Business Big Marketing to speak at the Synchron National Conference last month. “Tim showed Synchron advisers how they could leverage the technology they already have available to them to market and engage their current and potential clients,” Mr Trapnell said.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Reid said, “Advisers now have similar capabilities to big companies in terms of marketing and should be podcasting and constantly innovating to engage their clients. To market effectively, you no longer need deep pockets.”

Mr Reid also said advisers who are not using technology to share their knowledge may be doing their clients a disservice. “From the most basic to the most complicated, advisers can educate and inform their clients and potential clients via blogs, books, podcasts, social media updates, forums and presentations,” he said. “Someone has to take responsibility for educating prospects and clients so it might as well be the adviser.”

All advisers can achieve great marketing results, according to Mr Reid, if they take the initiative. “Podcasts and videos are powerful tools and all advisers can create them using equipment they already own such as a smart phone,” he said. “Technology means that as small businesses we can now all punch way above our marketing weight.”

Mr Trapnell said Synchron has always encouraged its advisers to become early adopters of new technology. “In 2010 we issued, at Synchron’s own expense, the latest iPads to all delegates at the Synchron NextGen conference and ran the entire conference on the iPad,” he said. “At our national conference this year, we upped the ante, introducing a Synchron app which kept delegates up-to-date with sessions, events and each other.”

Synchron also recently produced a video which is designed for advisers to educate their clients on the consequences of non-disclosure in the life insurance process.

As a licensee, Synchron has itself put in place leading technology which enables it to deliver on its promises to its swelling number of advisers. “We place significant emphasis on the use of technology within our licensee business,” Mr Trapnell said. “It is one of the reasons we are able, for example, to continue to pay our advisers daily. We believe we are still the only licensee in the country to do this.”

Mr Trapnell said he believes that helping advisers to embrace leading technology is one of the many reasons Synchron continues to attract new advisers and overcome competition in the non-institutional advice space.

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Don Trapnell

Leading non-institutional licensee, Synchron, has attributed its outstanding growth, from 28 authorised representatives, turning over $2.5 million in business in 2002 to over 300 authorised representatives, turning over $40 million today, to an inclusive culture and a mission to provide its advisers with simply the best.

Speaking at Synchron’s Simply the Best national conference in Anaheim last week, Synchron director, Don Trapnell said the licensee now ranks at number 14 in Australia by adviser numbers and number one in the non-institutional space.

“That makes us about double the size of the next biggest non-institutional licensee. We are also number six in Australia for risk new business,” he said. “That means that Synchron is punching way above its weight and the average Synchron adviser earns about double the industry average.”

Mr Trapnell said milestones this year include the number of advisers reaching 50 in NSW, 100 in Queensland and 34 in Western Australia.

“We have only been able to achieve this incredible growth because we understand the bigger picture,” Mr Trapnell said. “And we understand the symbiotic relationship that exists between advisers, licensees, product providers, underwriters, sales executives, software manufacturers and the press. By taking an holistic view of our environment and not placing ourselves ahead of any other party, we always have win/win relationships.”

Mr Trapnell said that in order to be sustainable, the industry needs to embrace the same symbiotic culture.  “Everyone in this industry relies on someone else. Without the product providers, sales executives would have no product to show advisers and advisers would not be able to give sound financial advice. Without sales executives, product providers would have difficulty distributing their product and advisers would lack the fundamental assistance they need to navigate the labyrinth of product differences. Without advisers, apart from the direct channel, life companies and fund managers would have difficulty getting their products to the end customer.”

The Synchron conference featured world class speakers including International Hall of Fame Social Media Marketing Speaker, Terry Brock; acknowledged US expert on customer service, Laurie Guest, Jeffrey Scott, Manager of Insurance and Technical at CommInsure and surprise guest speaker and the Australian voice of Siri, Karen Jacobsen.

In his opening address to Synchron advisers, Mr Trapnell criticized what he called the previous government’s attack on overseas conferences.

“The previous government didn’t seem to believe that our industry was important enough to have access to world’s best practice,” he said.  “The previous government said if you want to have an overseas conference it has to be in New Zealand or there are no tax breaks. I like New Zealand but I don’t think it is the epitome of world’s best practice on a world stage.”

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Don Trapnell

In an attempt to build a fence around their authorised representatives, some licensees are still making their advisers sign agreements which will force them to pay run-off professional indemnity (PI) cover premiums should they ever wish to leave.

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“Currently, if an adviser needs to arrange medical investigations for a client, they coordinate this using a pathology service via the underwriter” Mr Trapnell said.

“While this may be an efficient process, it can leave the adviser out In the cold, making it difficult to follow up and keep their client in the loop.

“As a licensee, we believe our advisers should have greater control over the use of paramedic services and have, therefore, entered into a joint venture with Health Predictions to create Synchron Medical.”

Synchron Medical is a mobile medical and pathology service which can provide all the reports an adviser needs to obtain to ensure the smooth passage of insurance through the underwriting process to completion – from simple blood tests through to specialist medical examinations.

“Synchron Medical’s point of difference is its online capability, allowing the adviser to request, track and monitor the status of medical tests and information – giving control of the insurance application process back to the adviser on behalf of their clients,” Mr Trapnell said.

“The intention is not to cut the underwriter out of the loop but to fit into already streamlined processes.”

Synchron Medical Business Development Manager, Lainie Clover, said that the service has already been accepted by all insurance companies and the next step is to include the ability to arrange PMARs – one of the major time lags in getting insurance applications through to completion.

“We see this as being a boutique, personalised service for Synchron advisers, saving time and drop outs,” Ms Clover said.

“Advisers will be allocated a personal consultant within Synchron Medical and this staff member will action referrals on the same day, providing a rapid turnaround time for clients and regular updates to the adviser on the progress of each case.”

Mr Trapnell said Synchron is already in discussions with several underwriters to have Synchron Medical made a preferred service so that, wherever a case is submitted by a Synchron adviser, the paramedic service used will be Synchron Medical.

“The launch of this facility has definitely struck a chord with our advisers as all 90 of the adviser delegates attending the conference last month have registered for the service. A result we are extremely happy with” he said.

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The Award recognizes outstanding young individuals in the financial advice arena.

Synchron Director Don Trapnell said “Mr Kelly is truly deserving of the Award. “On behalf of Synchron directors, I heartily congratulate Finn on winning Money Management’s Young Achiever of the Year Award,” he said. “It confirms that Finn is not only one of Synchron’s highest achievers but also one of Australia’s.”

Mr Kelly was a finalist for the Award last year, a finalist in the 2011 Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Rising Star Award and winner of the 2011 AFA Excellence in Education Award.

Mr Trapnell said Mr Kelly’s win also demonstrates that Synchron’s NextGen program has played a significant role in helping to develop, foster and encourage its younger advisers.

“NextGen is a program we introduced to encourage younger advisers to join Synchron and to support their development via education, soft skills training, coaching, mentoring and lead generation,” Mr Trapnell said.

“We are constantly investing in their development in order to improve the efficiencies of their practices and foster better outcomes for them and their businesses. We are delighted that our investment is paying off.”

Mr Kelly said “This award is recognition of the great work of the Wealth Enhancer’s team, my partner Sarah and the support of Synchron and my mentors in the industry.”

Another cause for celebration is Mr Kelly’s engagement to his partner, Sarah Riegelhuth, at sunrise on Diamond Head at the recent Synchron National Conference in Hawaii. In his former career, Mr Kelly spent seven years as an Army Officer in the Australian Defense Force.

His formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Science majoring in Maths and Physics, a Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning), a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary), a Diploma of Government, and a Diploma of Management. He is currently undertaking the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Program.

Wealth Enhancers is a boutique financial advice business headquartered in Melbourne.

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Speaking at the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) road show in Sydney last week, Mr Harrison said that any investment in technology must either improve the efficiency of the practice or generate more business or both and on those two counts, a number of tools currently available
stack up as “absolute winners”.

Tools that make Mr Harrison’s list include:

1. Dragon – speech recognition software available for PC, Mac, Blackberry or as an iPhone app. The suite of Dragon products is described by the manufacturer (Nuance) as being able to turn talk into text faster than most people can type. Dragon products also allow users to
   operate their computers by voice command. “There were teething problems with earlier editions,” Mr Harrison says, “but recent versions are really very good.”
2. Eco Smartpen – essentially an ordinary pen for note taking combined with an audio-recorder – meaning users can take notes and record conversations at the same time. Manufactured by Livescribe, the latest version has a USB port which can be used to transfer notes and
   audio to computer while recharging. “It’s brilliant,” says Mr Harrison, “because it will replay what was said at the point the note was made. It’s one of the best compliance tools around because it gives advisers the ability to attach an audio recording of a client interview to a
   PDF record of the notes taken during the interview and download them to the adviser’s computer.”
3. Call Recorder for Skype – many advisers, particularly those in regional areas, are already using Skype to take advantage of free audio and video calls to clients. Video conferencing is also possible with Skype. With the introduction of Call Recorder, Skype calls and conferences
   can be recorded and stored on the adviser’s computer. “And that,” says Mr Harrison, “Is another tick in the box – advisers can have a face-to-face record of client interviews for compliance purposes.”
4. Cloud computing – now available from many services, but according to Mr Harrison, Dropbox could be the pick of the bunch because it allows a number of devices to sync automatically. “Cloud computing is fast becoming the solution advisers can’t live without
   because it allows them to access and edit office files via an internet “cloud” any time, anywhere. Back in the office everything syncs with everything else – without anyone having to plug anything in or lift a finger.”

Mr Harrison said there are lots of technology solutions available in the marketplace today but before spending any money on any technology, advisers must ask themselves two questions.  “The questions are: ‘Will this make my business run more efficiently?’ or ‘Will this tool generate more business?’ If the answer to both these questions is ‘no’, then it’s not a business tool, it’s a toy.”

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In announcing the expansion plans, Wealth Enhancers’ CEO, Finn Kelly, who is also a 2011 AFA award winner, said the firm is now on the recruitment trail. “We are currently recruiting specialist advisers and are looking for passionate, driven specialists who want to be a part of a growing, team-focused firm,” he said.

The business, which 12 months ago consisted of only Mr Kelly, partner Sarah Riegelhuth and one administrative support person, now employs a team of 10.

“An acquisition made in the second half of 2011 has contributed to our growth, however much of the business success to date can be attributed to hard work from our team, our willingness as a team to take risks and organic growth,” Mr Kelly said. 

Synchron Director, Don Trapnell, said Wealth Enhancers is an outstanding example of the talent Synchron’s NextGen program has helped foster in its younger advisers.

“NextGen is a program we introduced to encourage younger advisers to join Synchron and to support their development via education, soft skills training, coaching, mentoring and leads generation,” Mr Trapnell said. “We are constantly investing in their development in order to improve the efficiencies of their practices and foster better outcomes for them and for their businesses. Wealth Enhancers is an excellent example which proves that our investment is paying off.”

Finn Kelly, Sarah Riegelhuth and Wade Tink are all graduates of Synchron’s NextGen Progam.

“Synchron’s NextGen program champions those qualities that we think are so vital to the success of of financial advice practices,” Mr Kelly said. “Those qualities are leadership, personal and professional excellence, team work, an ability to think big and a commitment to deliver only the very best in everything we do for our clients.”

The Sydney launch of the business forms part of a more ambitious plan, according to Mr Kelly.

“Our longer term goal is to be recognized as Australia’s premier boutique private wealth management firm, with a presence in all major cities in the country,” he said.

Mr Tink, who is currently the firm’s Strategic Financial Adviser, said he is looking forward to heading up the Sydney office. “The values, ideals and dreams of the firm are, I think, the way of the future,” he said.

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“It is highly contentious at best, and a blanket defamation of financial advisers at worst, to label as ‘churning’ the legitimate process of moving a client from one life company or life insurance product to another, after discovering a better alternative for them, ” said Synchron Director, Don Trapnell. “If a client’s best financial interests are served in moving them from one company or product to another then advisers are acting in accordance with both the letter and the spirit of the current and proposed legislation.”

Mr Trapnell said that it is particularly abhorrent to see organisations such as the Financial Services Council (FSC), which counts the major life insurance companies as members, jumping on the anti-adviser bandwagon.

“It is abhorrent because the legitimate process of moving clients from one product to a better product is actually product provider predicated,” he said. “Life insurance companies are continuously working to improve products, as they should be.  If companies were not in the business of continuously improving products, consumers would still be stuck with whole of life policies and driving around in FJ Holdens.

“When companies develop better products, they expect it to result in substantial new business – that is the very reason they do it.”

Mr Trapnell said that life companies actually facilitate the process of moving business from existing products to their new products by offering advisers solutions that make it simpler to move the business – such as, for example, short declarations of health.

“Life companies are very happy to see and actively encourage business moving to them from their competitors, but cry foul and label the practice ‘churning’ when it moves in the opposite direction,” he said.

Mr Trapnell also said he believes the FSC is attempting to camouflage the essential role life insurance companies play in the process by encouraging the use of the term ‘churning’ and laying the blame for it on advisers.

“This has resulted in more backlash against advisers who are, once again, being unfairly labelled the blackguards of the entire industry,” he said.

Mr Trapnell said advisers are also being unfairly held accountable for unsustainable lapse rates. Life companies have indicated that a one per cent increase in a company’s lapse rate represents about a $5 million drop in profits.

“Rather than blaming advisers for this, the industry should consider the over-generous, unrealistic and unsustainable lapse rate assumptions made by actuaries when setting premium rates,” Mr Trapnell said. “Life companies have admitted to us that all discontinuances are included in lapse rate calculations, irrespective of how long the business has been on the books.  This means, for example, that a term life policy that is 20 years old, that has achieved its intended purpose and which therefore discontinues, is included in a lapse rate calculation. This unfairly skews the figures.”

Mr Trapnell said the industry should also consider the impact of the global economic crisis, fluctuating interest rates and a downturn in the retail sector when evaluating lapse rates.  “Life insurance is often one of the first items on a household budget to be shed when expenditure needs to be tightened,” he said. “This is not a reflection on advisers but a fact of life.”

Mr Trapnell said that the stated objective of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms was to address the problems of the industry as highlighted by the collapses of Westpoint, Opes Prime and Storm Financial.

“To date, we have seen nothing which convinces us that any of the measures proposed by the Government or by the FSC will stop disasters like these from happening again,” Mr Trapnell said. “All we have seen is a licence to defame advisers.”

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Mr Harrison, who has worked closely with Synchron since 2007 as Synchron’s business strategy and marketing consultant, has a long and distinguished career in financial services, spanning accountancy, retail sales, insurance and banking.

Synchron Director, Don Trapnell, said he is looking forward to Mr Harrison’s more formal involvement in the business.

“Michael has made an enormous contribution to Synchron and in many ways has helped us reinvent the business to successfully retain our highly valuable senior advisers while also attracting and engaging with younger advisers,” he said. “With his help, we have transformed Synchron into what it is today: one of the largest non-institutionally owned licensees by adviser numbers in the country and the fastest growing.”

Mr Trapnell said the challenge now is to continue to develop and grow Synchron as the preferred dealer group for younger advisers who can learn from some of the best advisers in the business. “With his expert grasp on the changing landscape of financial services marketing and technology we know Michael is the man to help us do this,” he said.

Mr Harrison has consulted to a number of financial services 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.

Mr Harrison is also a popular corporate speaker, the author of three books and served three terms as Deputy Lord Mayor of Adelaide. He has sat on numerous government and private company boards and now spends his time between homes in Adelaide and Melbourne.

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Synchron Director, Don Trapnell, said Mr Smith’s promotion reflects the enormous contribution he has made to developing the Synchron business in Western Australia.

“Ken built Synchron’s present in WA from the ground up and scores of Synchron advisers have benefited from his vast experience,” he said. “WA represents around 10 per cent of the Australian population and yet 20 per cent of Synchron advisers operate from WA. This reflects the huge effort Ken has made building the business in his home state.”

In announcing the appointment of Albert Nellini as WA State Manager, Mr Trapnell said Mr Nellini personifies Synchron’s NextGen advisers.

“Albert is well-qualified, technologically astute and runs an extremely successful business in Como, WA,” he said. “He will be an excellent role model for the younger advisers we are currently mentoring into Synchron and is a valuable addition to our senior management team.”

All owners, directors and state managers of Synchron must be advisers running advice practices. Synchron is now one of the largest non-institutionally owned licensees by adviser numbers in the country and the fastest growing.

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