The value in advisers uniting with other professionals

Uniting with other professionals such as lawyers and accountants brings benefits for both advisers and their clients, say two financial advisers.  

While advisers were experts in their fields, there was value in businesses working with other professionals to provide clients with specialised services. It also allowed for professionals to build relationships and refer clients between each other.

After opening his own financial advisory firm, Unite Wealth, earlier this year, Robert Rich spoke with Money Management on the value of connecting with other professionals as an adviser. 

The director explained how uniting professional services together - such as advisers, brokers, accountants, lawyers and agents - could better support clients’ needs. It was this idea which inspired him to name his firm Unite Wealth.

“I don’t think enough energy is put on surrounding families with a team of experts and the right people,” Rich said. 

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“I understand accounting, but I'm not an accountant. I understand getting a loan from a bank, but I'm not a mortgage broker. I understand the law, but I'm not a lawyer,” he recognised. 

The adviser reiterated that clients should not feel the need to attempt these professional services on their own, giving the analogy that when someone was ill, they would visit a doctor. 

“You have a problem, you see a specialist, they resolve your problem and you outsource it. You don't need to do it yourself,” Rich added. 

“For families, it's important to build a team of people around them, or a tribe, so they feel supported and nurtured. Then the [client] can go about what they need to do in their lives.”

Mike Miller was another financial adviser who recently went through the process of setting up his own firm, Emerging Wealth, in February. 

Speaking to Money Management, he paralleled Rich’s concept of outsourcing, enabling clients to refocus on what was actually important to them.

“I believe in outsourcing everything that you're not interested in, or that you don't want to focus on,” he said.

Miller highlighted that this was at the core of an adviser’s purpose.

“Actually, that's what [financial advisers] do. We focus on the finances so people can live a full life.” 

He added that he would outsource tasks to people who were the best at their niche, whether that was investing interstate or resolving foreign tax issues. 

“Having a network of people that’s niche to a [specific] area is extremely valuable.”

Although clients could have the capacity or financial literacy to manage their own finances, both advisers echoed each other in recommending the support of an adviser. 

“You could be extremely switched on when it comes to finances, but do you want to get home at 6pm and look at your share portfolio? It doesn't always have to be where your weaknesses are. It's more about what you actually want to be spending your time doing,” Miller commented. 

He continued: “Make sure you focus your time on doing and living the life that you want to live. Anything that you don't want to be doing, even if you can do it, just outsource it”.