by Jim Stackpool | Sep 29, 2025 | uplifts
Why would an existing client agree to a fee uplift without something additional provided in return? This was in the back of Sarah’s mind as she prepared for an upcoming fee uplift conversation with an existing client. Last week, adviser Sarah lost an opportunity to...
by Jim Stackpool | Sep 22, 2025 | Uncategorized, uplifts
Sarah was concerned about her upcoming review meeting with existing clients, Adrian and Jane. Still in her late-20s, being qualified for only eighteen months, working a small client base of ‘lower-end’ clients her firm had inherited from when they purchased a client...
by Jim Stackpool | Sep 15, 2025 | growth, Growth Stress
Owners of financial advice firms face two different types of business risk. The risk of starting & the risk of growth. I reckon the most significant difference between these risks is ignorance. Initially, most brand-new business owners are ignorant of what is...
by Jim Stackpool | Sep 9, 2025 | adviser fees, Fee For Service
Had a conversation with a London-based client last week about a potential challenge to the pricing of independent advice as we know it here in Australia. It’s referred to as the “Decency Cap”, and it’s been slowly spreading in the UK advice market since...
by Jim Stackpool | Sep 1, 2025 | Capacity-To-Serve, Median Fees
Owners of advice firms track plenty of numbers: total revenue, new revenue, recurring revenue, profit, new clients, funds under advice, active clients, and cost-to-serve. These traditional KPIs measure progress, returns, and growth effectively. But they don’t...
by Jim Stackpool | Aug 25, 2025 | AI, Productivity
From Fiefdoms to Grower’s Markets: An Evolving Team Model Comprehensive financial advice teams are approaching a crossroad. Although scarred by compliance red tape and adapting to work-from-home models, unthinkable pre-COVID, these are golden times where...
by Jim Stackpool | Aug 18, 2025 | Access Price
Advice firm access fees work like a golf club membership. Regardless of whether I play once or twenty times a year, I pay the same annual fee for access to the club. This is an access fee. This doesn’t cover lessons, fees, gear or drinks on the 19th – but...
by Jim Stackpool | Aug 14, 2025 | Fee For Service
I had a conversation this week with an advice firm that is convinced its fee-for-service pricing is working well for them. I disagreed. Here’s why I don’t like fee-for-service pricing for comprehensive advice firms: it creates misalignment between what...
by Jim Stackpool | Aug 11, 2025 | Ideal Advice Client
What makes an ideal advice prospect? Are they the ones with the most money? Is a client with $2M in assets more ideal than one with $1M? For some advisers, yes. For most, it depends on other factors. Financial advice revolves around money, but is the...
by Jim Stackpool | Nov 14, 2024 | advice skills, Best Interests, best practice, Business Performance, Client Care, Client Meetings, Collaboration, Meetings, skills, strategy, Uncategorized, Valuable Lessons
A 24-year-old adviser in one of our Certainty Advice firms, engaged a $12,000 new advice client last week. The striking aspect of this engagement was that the 24-year-old adviser is still in her professional year. Technically unqualified? Yes. Compliant? Yes....
