Strategy over product drives good planning

A strong belief in the value of strategy advice rather than product advice combined with a passion for managing clients’ financial affairs in a proactive manner helped Julian Battistella, licensee representative of stockbroking firm Wilson HTMInvestment Group, take out the ‘highly commended’ category of the 2006 Financial Planner of the Year Award.

Battistella said he is absolutely committed to his clients, and despite being challenged at various times to shift his focus to providing product-driven advice, he has stuck to strategy advice.

“Early on in my career, I was regularly challenged by some advisers to focus more on product advice, as that is how financial planners get paid,” he said.

“I refused to accept this as I felt very strongly — as I still do — that the profession of financial planning will one day in the future be regarded as just another profession, alongside medicine, law and accounting.

“Clearly … those who focus on strategy as opposed to product advice will help this shift take place sooner rather than later.”

According to Battistella, the ingredients for a successful financial planning practice are high quality staff, common goals between staff, employer and clients, transparency and flexibility to advise on the full offering of financial planning products, strategies and services.

He is a strong believer that planners should not be under pressure to sell in-house financial products to clients.

“I recognise that clients pay fees for the provision of ongoing advice and expect to receive it,” he said.

One way he tries to ensure that he delivers the highest possible service to all his clients is by keeping his client base at a manageable level.

“An adviser should always be looking for opportunities to proactively contact a client with the aim of fine tuning their existing strategy to account for legislative changes, changes in personal situation such as reaching age 55 or 65, death of a family member and so on.

“Advisers should always keep their clients fully informed. A client appoints and pays an adviser to obtain peace of mind in that their financial affairs are constantly being looked after and optimised by an adviser they trust and who is approachable and easily accessible,” he said.

He is a strong advocate of the need for advisers to form part of an integrated approach characterised by co-operation between other specialists, including tax lawyers, accountants and superannuation administrators, “to ensure the full suite of services can be delivered to a client at all times”.

Battistella also pointed out that he tries to give back to the industry and to the community in which he lives and works.

Until the middle of this year, he was chairperson of CFP 1 — Professionalism, Ethics and Compliance, having served in this role since 2000.

He has also been a member of the NAB National Advisory Board for the past two years and has served on various committees of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).

As a Victorian, Battistella is a keen supporter of Australian Rules football, and has helped to foster this sporting interest among the children of his local community through his coaching role with the Auskick program, as well as coaching an under-9s team.

He is also president of St Roch Primary School’s Parents and Friends Association and recently applied for a role as committee member of a Catholic Secondary Education Scholarship being established within the Melbourne Archdiocese.

Along with a number of others within the finance industry, Battistella was involved in this year’s charity fundraiser Movember event. As a result of his efforts in growing an impressive moustache, he raised over $2,000 for the charity, which supports of research into prostate cancer and help for men suffering depression.

Within his company Wilson HTM, he is a member of the internal investment committee, and has been mentoring a new adviser that recently joined the company.

According to Battistella, he has been providing regular feedback to assist the new adviser’s career development and his focus on providing high quality strategic advice within the fee-for-service structure of the practice.

One piece of advice he has for those starting out in the financial planning industry is: “Do not necessarily take the first job you find.”

“One of the big challenges when joining the profession is identifying a dealership that is perfectly suited to your personality,” he said.

He points to private banking, major banks, stock broking firms, boutiques, self-employment and industry funds as each offering different services to clients and also varied types of working environments.

“Each of these groups offer different service offerings, and their expectations and tolerance can be incredibly different.”

Battistella believes mentoring is critical to those starting out in the industry.

“Finding a mentor in the early stages of a financial planning career is probably the most important and most difficult task.

“Surrounding yourself with good teachers is a great start to having a long and successful career in planning,” Battistella said.