One of the challenges financial advisers face is the sheer breadth of areas that clients may want support with. This isn’t about advice in silos, focused on distinct product areas, but instead taking into account the full picture for the client, says Ahmed Bawa (pictured), CEO of Rosemount Financial Solutions (IFA).
Keeping on top of developments in all of those different product areas, and what that can mean for those looking for advice, is not easy.
It’s with this challenge in mind that we have launched regional financial planning peer group sessions, bringing together advisers with representatives from provider partners. Advisers can boost their knowledge, pick the brains of their peers as well as providers, and put themselves in a stronger position to deliver for their clients in the months and years ahead.
It’s a model that has worked well in the past for our advisers with mortgage-focused peer groups, and by adding financial planning peer groups to the mix, advisers are able to enjoy a broader range of insightful sessions.
For example, recent sessions featured presentations on areas such as the investment outlook for 2025, the truths of index funds, the opportunities for advisers within trust and estate planning following last year’s Budget, and the state of the annuity market.
Getting that sort of personal access to the likes of Canada Life, 7IM, Vanguard and HSBC opens up all sorts of opportunities for advisers to not only round out their knowledge, but to also pinpoint areas where they could diversify or reshape how they deliver for clients.
Supporting advisers in building their own business
What clients want from their advisers is changing. Where once they might have needed support in a single product area, such as a mortgage, today people increasingly want a more comprehensive service.
In recent years the industry has seen a great level of diversification from advisers adding new strings to their bow, ensuring that they are better placed to match the needs of those that seek them out.
There can be limitations placed on the adviser, however. We have seen a host of advisers join Rosemount over the last 12 months precisely because their previous network was not able to support them with moving into financial planning. It’s the service the client needs, it’s the service the adviser wants to provide, and yet they simply cannot develop the business as they see fit within their existing network.
It’s a challenge for networks to recognise and adapt to. If we want to retain the most talented advisers, we need to support them in building the business they aspire to run, not hold them back.
Viewing advisers as individuals
This is where networks can prove their worth. It is all too easy to view advisers as a homogenous group, and provide generic training and support, as if each firm is exactly the same.
But that’s really missing the point. Each business is unique, and will have their own particular client demographics and challenges. By recognising their individual strengths and needs, networks can provide more personalised support and help them achieve their ambitions.
Tapping into the community aspect of a network is a good example of how this can work in practice. We have had advisers in the past who struggled with protection sales. But partnering them with protection specialists and allowing them to shadow advice sessions with clients has helped them build the skills to overcome the issues that were holding them back.
Bespoke training can prove effective too, focusing on areas where the adviser particularly needs help. Similarly peer group sessions allow advisers to pick the brains of their colleagues, as well as providers, on how to navigate specific challenges that have emerged in their client sessions.
Networks should be judged on how they add value to their members, on how they help those advisers to deliver a better service to clients. Advisers should view their network as an enabler, rather than a blocker.
What do you need?
Ultimately, advisers need to have a plan for themselves, an endgame that they are working towards. What do they want their business and their client bank to look like? And what do they need to reach that point?
The role of any good network should be to help their members reach that endgame, to build the sort of business the adviser wants to run. If an adviser doesn’t feel their network is doing that, perhaps because the network has limits on the sort of advice business that it will have under its umbrella, then it’s vital that the adviser considers their options.
Networks must ensure they are making life easier for their members, and helping them reach their ambitions. Whether it’s peer group events, bespoke training or community sessions, there are many options for networks to do just that.
If your network isn’t delivering such support opportunities, then it may be time to ask whether your advice business would be better off elsewhere.
