Orphan clients create opportunities for planners
The avalanche of financial planning changes in the last year has left institutions with more orphan clients than real clients, a veteran adviser believes.
Connect Financial Service Brokers CEO Paul Tynan said growing numbers of clients are being forsaken as planners exit large companies, but remain on the books.
“A lot of the bigger players have a lot of orphan clients and there has certainly been an increase,” he told Money Management.
“The question then becomes, who’s servicing the clients?”
Tynan said the scenario presents a significant opportunity for planners to capitalise on “drifting” clients, who could be attached to out-dated products.
“All the baby boomers are going to retire and as they do, they will start looking around for proper advice after years of neglect,” he said.
A key challenge for planners will be developing the “soft skills” necessary to recapture orphan clients.
“A lot of them do not have any skill in training or nurturing people along,” he said.
“Essentially, this business is all about relationships and that’s something that has not received the attention it deserves.”
Recommended for you
The FSCP has announced its latest verdict, suspending an adviser’s registration for failing to comply with his obligations when providing advice to three clients.
Having sold Madison to Infocus earlier this year, Clime has now set up a new financial advice licensee with eight advisers.
With licensees such as Insignia looking to AI for advice efficiencies, they are being urged to write clear AI policies as soon as possible to prevent a “Wild West” of providers being used by their practices.
Iress has revealed the number of clients per adviser that top advice firms serve, as well as how many client meetings they conduct each week.
