Opportunities for intrepid planners

There are significant rewards and opportunities for Australian financial planners who are prepared to transfer their skills overseas.

Australia has one of the best financial systems in the world, which means our advisers are well recognised globally and their skills are internationally transferable, according to PIS managing director Grahame Evans.

Because markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia tend to lag Australia in terms of their structure and regulation, Australian advisers will already have some insight about where those markets are heading and will be able to apply that experience if they choose to move, Evans said.

Ross Smith is the director of Shenton Limited, a planning firm that is licensed in both Hong Kong and Australia. He is concerned that many good planners will be lost to the industry once commissions are banned.

Hong Kong has several distinct advantages over Australia, such as a lower businesses tax rate of 16 per cent, no GST, no fringe benefits tax and no capital gains tax, Smith said.

Smith is encouraging Australian planners to start setting up an overseas client base so that when commissions are removed, planners have the beginnings of an alternative revenue stream.

“Become a multi-jurisdictional financial planner, globalise your business and earn your commissions from offshore financial institutions,” he said.

Paul Milbourne is a senior financial adviser with NAB subsidiary 360 Financial. Milbourne has been based in Kuala Lumpur for two years.

There are significant rewards in these markets for planners who are prepared to put in the hard yards, he said.

Planners face stiff competition because they are servicing a relatively niche market of mostly Western expatriates who number roughly in the tens of thousands in places such as Kuala Lumpur.

“The opportunities over here are huge,” he said. “The average client here is the equivalent of a high-net-worth client in Australia. They’re well educated and know what questions to ask.”