Adviser future in retirement planning


More advisers will be adapting their business to an older demographic as a third of all financial planners predict retirees 75 years and older will make up a large portion of their client base, research reveals.
An Investment Trends report showed 32 per cent of all planners surveyed expect more of their clients to be in this age bracket by 2017, while 35 per cent predict the accumulation phase client base will shrink by 2017.
Investment Trends senior analyst, Recep Peker, said the December 2014 Retirement Planner Report, which surveyed 617 planners, is reflective of Australia's ageing Baby Boomer cohort.
"Over the next 25 years the number of Australians aged 65 and over is expected to double and planners are actively shifting their focus to align with this," Peker said.
As for investment goals for retiree clients, 68 per cent of planners pointed to "highest income" as the first or second most important factor in meeting retiree clients' best interests, while 65 per cent identified "lowest risk" as first or second priority.
But factors like high liquidity, lowest cost and high capital growth do not rate as highly for this age cohort.
Only a fifth said lowest cost was a top two priority, while only eight per cent said high capital growth was a priority.
Recommended for you
Wealth managers have said they are experiencing difficulties in aligning their company’s in-house views with the ever-increasing needs of clients, according to MSCI.
The financial advice industry is experiencing a “champagne problem” regarding pricing, with advice firms seeing no need to cut their prices to remain competitive.
Marking a decade offering managed accounts in Australia, BlackRock has elaborated on the changes it has seen in their usage by financial advisers, with net client flows rising from 4 per cent to 25 per cent.
AZ NGA’s CEO has unpacked how its recent $345 million debt facility from Barings will accelerate its advice network’s growth ambitions, and allow its largest firms to access a greater source of funding.