It was Nathan Kerr’s understanding of his client base and the undying commitment to the industry that earned him this year’s Money Management BDM of the Year title.
Kerr, who currently works for TAL Limited, was named state winner for Western Australia in last year’s awards, having been beaten to a national title by one of this year’s members of the judging panel, BT's Michelle Woodgate.
Woodgate said Kerr was clearly focused on looking after his advisers above and beyond, and more importantly, he is “very passionate about the industry”.
“One point of difference with Nathan is that when I initially called him he was seeing a client at the gym at 7am to win the business, working around the adviser’s schedule,” Woodgate said.
Kerr was humbled by the nomination, and has praised a very strong and supportive team at TAL that has helped him along the way.
His story started in 2002 in London, when he was appointed general manager of MAD Advertising after being head hunted by the company director due to his sales record and motivational skills.
Kerr moved to Brisbane in 2005, where he joined ANZ as relief manager and senior personal banker.
He then gained his Diploma of Financial Planning and moved to Suncorp, where he worked as a financial adviser for almost two years. While at Suncorp, Kerr was in the ‘top five’ nationally for risk sales and number one risk writer in Brisbane West.
In July 2008, Kerr moved to TAL (formerly Tower Australia) where he is currently key account manager, specialising in business development, relationship management, and sales.
For Kerr, the main challenges facing the industry at the moment are not coming from Future of Financial Advice reforms or the state of the global economy.
The biggest challenges for financial services come from the lack of younger people who are attracted to the sector and low levels of financial literacy among this demographic.
“The lack of younger generations attracted to our industry is of great concern – especially financial planning, where the average age of advisers is still over 50 and they are not getting any younger,” Kerr said.
“For those advisers looking to exit the profession, the lack of younger advisers coming in makes realising the value of their business even harder, and the younger advisers already in the industry struggle to finance the purchase, with the real loser being the end client.”
All BDMs have a product to sell, but Kerr said he always lived by the old adage ‘people buy you, not the product’.
“I want to revert to that old adage by creating, innovating and marketing a product so it sells itself by challenging the paradigms through creative thinking, self-direction, and the fundamental sales philosophy of ‘people don’t buy what you do, but why you do it’,” he said.
The judging panel recognised Kerr’s passion for the industry. Shadforth Financial Group’s principal and private client adviser, Charles Badenach (who was also named 2011 Financial Planner of the Year), said Kerr was an outstanding example of a person who has transitioned himself from a financial adviser to a BDM, where he is able to pass on his knowledge and skill-set to his clients.
“His focus on continuing development and education has enabled him to remain at the forefront of the industry changes,” Badenach said.
“This desire to continually improve himself and his client value proposition are what sets him apart from his peers.”
While Kerr took home the national title, four other state winners were also presented with their respected trophies at the Money Management/Lonsec Fund Manager of the Year awards night in Sydney.
They are: Brad Tyley from BT Financial Group (QLD), Elise Sanders from AIA (SA/NT), Ian Percy from MLC (NSW) and Blackrock's Simon Rafferty (VIC).
