“There’s so much opportunity for financial advisers in today’s market”.
Samantha Albiez is Senior Adviser with Bravium, a self-licensed boutique advisory firm in downtown Braddon, Canberra. The firm specialises in SME owners, young families, busy professionals and couples in the defence industry.
Samantha sees huge potential for financial advisers.
“Today’s financial advisers are no different from lawyers, accountants, engineers and other professionals. They all sell value. No firm can’t assume last year’s success and growth will continue every year. To be able to sell value and fund growth requires an on-going development of client relationships and balance sheets.
Advice Balance Sheets
“Balance sheets for advisory firms are not tangible assets sitting on shelves. They are intangible assets. Developing new skills and propositions for existing or new clients that extend the expertise, increases the value, ensuring firms that rely upon what they’ve always done in the past.
“If we didn’t build upon client relationship and extend our expertise at Bravium, our growth would be at higher risk due to regulation, competition and technology. We can’t control those, but we can control delivering the value our clients need.
“Some advisers in today’s financial planning industry believe the drop in firm valuations and pay rates are not their fault. It’s just business. Advisers are no different from other professional services firms who must make themselves as valuable as possible every year without over-reliance on what they used to be paid for.
I reckon Samantha and those advisers like her have a clear understanding as to what is fundamental for the future of all advisory brands.
Advisers today are being justifiably challenged by almost a perfect storm of regulations (further clouded by lack of appointed regulatory authority), technological change and removal of old structures the underpinned an entire industry’s valuations.
Samantha’s views are refreshing.
Interesting that advisers like Samantha are so enthusiastic about the future of advice while CPA Australia has filed a submission wrote to Federal Treasury seeking to reduce the regulatory burden faced by accountants citing over-lapping, technical, professional and regulatory guidelines.
Samantha and a new generation of advisory firms like Bravium realise that the old days of making money out of other people’s money are fundamentally changing. It’s almost ironic for an industry built upon the buying and selling of assets – that some firms are stumbling as they redevelop their balance sheets, their own assets (i.e. their offerings).
These are the best of times for advisers like Samantha Albiez at Bravium in Canberra to work on their balance sheets. It’s time for developing new expertise, processes and methods to pursue original objectives – to help Australians lead their best possible financial lives.
What do you reckon?
ABOUT SAMANTHA ALBIEZ
Sam is a Certainty Adviser. Adhering to Australia’s only certification standard for comprehensive, unconflicted, financial advice. She is also a podium finisher (i.e. finalist) in Young Leaders in Financial Planning Awards (2018) and awards from her studies at University of Canberra. Day to day she manages and leads advisory client relationships. Sam is a speaker at the forthcoming Certainty Advice Conference in Sydney Thursday May 14.
ABOUT JIM STACKPOOL
For over 30 years Jim has influenced, coached, and consulted to accounting & financial advisory firms across Australia. His firm, Certainty Advice Group specialises in growing professional advice firms offering comprehensive unconflicted advice. He has created Australia’s highest and only ACCC/IP Australia Certification Mark standard of comprehensive advice – Certainty Advice. He is also an author, blogger, and keynote speaker covering topics on his expertise.