Adviser Feedback 03/08 – Have you changed dealer groups?
I haven’t changed dealer groups since I’ve been in the industry. I joined Pembroke Financial Planners in 1994.
Since that time we've obviously seen the merger with Pembroke and Godfrey and changes with the MLC group and the change with Lend Lease to the National group. At the end of the day the dealer has provided us with appropriate support in research, marketing and branding. And I guess the target market suits the part of the industry that I enjoy working in.
The dealer continues to provide what I think are appropriate services to the network to service my clients the way I want to and the dealer has a history of seeking input from the consulting network of the organisation, which is healthy.
It has been easy to work with them, they have supported us and we support them with.
As well as providing services, there has also been strong consultant representation from the dealer.
Steve Garrett
Principal consultant
Godfrey Pembroke
We hold our own dealer's license and therefore don't belong to a large dealer group which gives us the freedom to conduct our own research and select investment products based on our findings.
Having the freedom to select our own products and strategies gives us greater flexibility in matching the investment products to the client's needs.
We have found that in some large dealer groups compliance and other overheads are shared and we carry all those costs ourselves. Also large dealer groups conduct their own training for proper authority holders where as we have to conduct our own training, and make sure our continuing education is kept up to date.
Anne Inskip, CFP
Symes Warne and Associates
I have changed dealer groups since I felt the isolation of Western Australia.
The services provided by an east coast dealer group were not value for money. The change was foremost an economic issue for me.
I also met the ASIC criteria to get my own dealer's licence. This has been an excellent move, some costs have gone up such as compliance and research but the business is more profitable overall.
Clients also generally appreciate the degree of independence, as the previous dealer group I was with was owned by a fund manager and people prefer to support their state and local businesses. In fact, new business has increased as people are seeking independence, which I feel there should be between dealer groups, products and planners.
Other issues are that as a practice there is a need to meet ASIC requirements and be committed to the ongoing compliance issues.
We now also have complete control with a larger degree of responsibility but of course there is no-one watching to prevent anything from screwing up.
The transition was smooth and the dealer group was responsive about client ownership. The total time it took from doing the first analysis to getting the licence was about six months.
Nick Bruining
Principal
Nick Bruining and Associates.
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