Elston featured in Money and Life by The Financial Planning Association of Australia: www.moneyandlife.com.au/articles/practice-future

What do you believe will be the main characteristics of leading advisory firms of the future? Eight planners provide their thoughts.

Damon Bensein CFP®
Head of Private Wealth, Elston
Licensee: EP Financial Services

As the advice industry evolves, so too will the value proposition and the way we service clients. We believe that over time advisers will need to move their value proposition away from picking stocks, trying to predict markets and spending time on SOAs. This will be largely driven through advances in technology by automating process, driving down margins and helping to reduce inefficiencies that currently exist.

While technology does place a threat to our profession, it can also assist in being proactive, building scale, reducing total cost and improving interaction.

To be successful, it will be important to play to our strengths and the key strength advisers have over the advice driven by computers, is our ability to have empathy and build relationships.

To do this, we believe there will need to be a greater focus on gaining a thorough understanding of our clients, setting goals and establishing deep relationships with these clients, and delivering solutions that consider tax efficiencies and estate planning requirements.

Advice firms of the future will need to be great at providing pro-active communications and high quality advice, plus the use of technology will be critical in providing a superior client experience.

Customisation of both advice and investment solutions will also be even more critical to success. However, with customisation comes increased complexity and costs and it will be important to develop or utilise systems that provide this in a scalable solution that is competitive on price.

Ultimately, the successful advice firms of the future will be those that are open to change and technology. They will need to build superior relationships with their clients and drive outcomes that are customised to their individual needs.