Thank god for a country boy

Lawrie O’Neill is a West Australian country boy, but has always wanted to take his career beyond the traditional boundaries.

He started financial planning at a bank — but simply selling products or becoming a bank manager was not for him.

His big move came on October 20, 1987, which says something about O’Neill’s timing.

“One of our clients at the bank was a financial planning business run by Greg Devine and I started talking to him about financial planning,” O’Neill says.

“He offered me a job, but I had been at the bank for nine years and nine months and long-service leave was coming up.”

The dilemma facing O’Neill was the chance of long-service paid leave or starting a new career.

“I thought if I delayed the decision for another thee months I would always be three months behind with my career, so I decided to join Greg at Portfolio Planning Services (PPS),” he says.

“I arrived on my first day and was told to sit in an office and talk to people, reassuring them and holding their hand while the stockmarket crashed.”

O’Neill admits it was a baptism of fire to the world of financial planning, but it emphasised the importance of giving advice regardless of market conditions.

“What happened after the crash really convinced me that financial planning was where I wanted to be, not being a bank manager,” he says.

The initial experience of just providing advice to clients, rather than selling products, has shaped O’Neill’s subsequent financial planning career.

One of his skills has always been the ability to get along with people, honed in the country and while playing football for the local league.

This skill has also been a feature of O’Neill’s career where, at various times, he has been training advisers and developing referral bases. He sees his strengths as coaching, mentoring and communicating.

“I have always wanted to be challenged in my career. I am good with people, good at maths and I understand money — having come from a working-class family,” he says.

Today O’Neill is a principal consultant at Godfrey Pembroke, based at the Exchange Plaza office in Perth, offering lifestyle coaching advice.

“I have always been a firm believer in lifestyle coaching financial planning,” he says.

O’Neill says his role is to help clients fulfil their aspirations and dreams.

“Financial planning is not just about money, it is about lifestyle, relationships and being the best you can be,” he says.

Recently O’Neill’s role at Godfrey Pembroke changed dramatically and he is now advising corporate superannuation clients.

This includes assisting both management and staff on all aspects of financial advice connected to a firm’s superannuation fund.

“I have moved out of direct financial planning to workplace advice,” he says.

“I talk to corporate superannuation clients on the value of the scheme and what financial benefits it will bring to the workforce. It is about being an advocate for the employer.”

This area of the business is expected to grow with the implementation of member choice next year.

O’Neill says most of the master trusts handling corporate superannuation will be able to offer a wide enough choice of funds for members, but it is the advice that is lacking.

“The master trust choices will satisfy 90 per cent of staff’s choices, but they will need advice — which is an opportunity for this industry,” he says.

Another area of this business segment involves advising staff on employee share schemes, which O’Neill says is something that is rarely understood.

“I spend one week a month in Sydney talking to senior executives who don’t understand the employee share schemes,” he says. “This is another opportunity for financial planners.”