Advisers need to specialise, says Securitor chief

The Australian financial services sector needs to encourage and enable more advisers to specialise in diverse areas if it is serious about elevating the quality of advice and retaining its reputation for excellence, according to Securitor head Neil Younger.

Speaking at the 2008 Securitor Convention in Auckland, New Zealand, this week, Younger said although the Australian financial services sector is more sophisticated than its US counterpart in many respects, the latter’s structure makes it easier for advisers to specialise and clients to see the value of advice in its many shapes and forms.

“Our industry is still emerging from a cottage industry, so there are some lessons, regarding structure for example, that we can learn from the US.”

He said about 77 per cent of US-based financial services firms have hired specialists in the past five years, which has effectively improved the general quality of advice offered and, consequently, public perception of the sector.

Younger predicted that increased consolidation of financial services businesses in Australia would facilitate (and bolster) specialisation.

He said Securitor is developing a model that will help its network of advisers grow their businesses by appointing and training more specialists in areas such as risk and debt strategy and implementation. While a launch date has not yet been confirmed, he said he expected the new model to be available within the next few months.

“We see the need for a more robust advice practice interchange model,” he said.