Culture and cohesion needed to fix industry
While culture has been identified as one of the most important aspects of the financial services industry, following the Royal Commission, cohesion is the “other ingredient”, according to a panel.
Speaking on a panel at Money Management’s Future of Wealth Conference in Sydney on Thursday, Total Financial Solutions head of risk and compliance, Shannon Durrant, said larger organisations struggled with culture where employees worked in silos.
“The intent might be there to have a good culture but mistakes can be made and breaches made so cohesion is the other ingredient,” she said.
Also speaking on the panel, Fiducian Group’s executive chair, Indy Singh said how cohesion was brought about was important.
“When it comes to culture and cohesion is that it’s a state of mind and an attitudinal thing. It’s what you should be doing, how you accept and tolerate the way you do things, and the way you should behave and perform,” Singh said.
“If your attitude is right then compliance follows and that’s how they come together.”
Agreeing, ClearView managing director, Simon Swanson, said decent governance processes needed to be in place to change culture, especially as competition pressures were immense.
“In advice businesses you can have great culture but you need great processes and systems in place. These processes and strategies need to be decent for the customer,” he said.
“If you do the right thing by the customer you’re halfway there. If the evidence is right then you can back it up – it’s as simple as that.”
Recommended for you
With a joint venture announced between WT Financial and Merchant Wealth Partners, the firm may have a US background, but partner David Haintz has a long history with Australian financial advice.
The big four bank is set to see $40 million per annum in cost savings as it continues to migrate customers from its Asgard wealth platform to BT Panorama by FY26.
AMP North has added three new managers to its range of managed accounts for financial advisers and also extended its existing partnership with Betashares.
Advice licensee WT Financial has announced a 50/50 joint venture with the Australian subsidiary of a US financial advice investor.
