Dealer groups capitalise on redundancies

A large number of financial planning dealer groups are taking advantage of the economic downturn to boost their client numbers and revenue by offering redundancy packages to companies preparing to cut jobs and offering to help redundant workers.

Matthew Taylor, an adviser at Centric Wealth, said the economic downturn was a good opportunity to attract new long-term clients.

“We’re trying to attract long-term clients, particularly if we’re well-placed to help them now during a traumatic event like redundancy; it’s a good start to what will hopefully be a long-term relationship.”

Phil Sgangarella, a partner at Announcer Financial Planning, said the dealer group was pulling in 50 per cent of its business through redundancies in the current environment, while 85 per cent of people who come to them for help with redundancies stay on as clients.

Simon Clifford, the director of Avenue Capital Management, said there had been a definite increase in interest in their redundancy service.

“The redundancy process is just one leg in a person’s lifetime of work and experience, [and] I would imagine by and large they will become very good clients across the board,” he said.

Gavin Fernando, director of financial services at Prosperity Advisers, said the company was doing mail-outs to retrenched workers to let them know “the expertise is still there”.

There is a need for advice in that area, Fernando said.

Thornton Group has also been getting more involved in the unemployment space, recently purchasing a company that specialises in redundancies to build business in that area, said managing director Dean Guse.

The director of Lonsdale Financial Group, Kon Costas, said it had been trying to engage with as many job placement agencies as it could in the last couple of months.

Scott Walters, financial advice leader at Mercer Wealth Solutions, said he had seen an upturn in interest in redundancy packages and Mercer was continuing to win new business in the redundancy space.

“For many people, it can be their first introduction to financial advice. These situations are not easy ones for workers, and to have a trusted hand there to help and provide advice can lead to a much longer-term relationship,” he said.

Walters said while Mercer didn’t track the number of workers who stayed on as clients after they had found other jobs, most of the workers who they helped with redundancies appeared to stay on for financial advice.