Only 3% of advice practices are looking for a risk adviser to join them in 2012, according to a survey conducted by a financial planning recruitment specialist.
The eJobs Financial Planner Principal Survey asked practice principals to identify the positions they would be most likely to recruit in the coming 12 months. Only 3.1% nominated ‘Risk Adviser’, the lowest result of all the positions listed.
Most likely to be recruited were ‘Administrators/Client Service Officers’ (20.8%), and ‘Junior Paraplanners’ (20.8%), while 7.3% said they would look to recruit a ‘Servicing Financial Planner’ and 4.2% would hire a ‘Business Development Financial Planner’ .
According to the survey, 47.7% of practices’ said they saw their level of employment remaining the same, indicating that the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms would have no effect on financial planning employment.
However, while most practices anticipated no change or minimal change in their own practices, they expressed concerns about the wider industry. According to one respondent: “I see the industry contracting for a period especially as I see limited new entrants wanting to start up or buy businesses.”
eJobs’ Trevor Punnett said the results of the survey indicated that ‘value for money’ would be an issue that all financial planning practices would have to grapple with and communicate effectively to their clients in order to survive both FoFA and the current economic climate.
“Despite its objective of increasing access to Financial Advice, FoFA appears to be increasing practice costs, will likely cause many practices to lose clients through its opt-in requirement, and appears to do nothing to encourage industry growth and employment,” he said.
The fact that the level of employment is staying the same is not ‘No effect’, it is in fact a very negative effect because it means that the industry is full of uncertainty and not moving forward. The reality is any new measure becomes a cost burden to this industry. The FOFA measures that make growth of the industry stagnate is incredibly negative, particularly for the small player. I suppose that is what the ‘banks and industry funds’ have hoped for. A ‘Vanilla’ product world with salaried slaves where the banks & I.F.’s rake in billions for doing sweet FA. Congratualtions government & FOFA, you have succeeded in creating another corporate ‘monopoly’ of the colluding overpaid bankers.
Yipee
At last I have read an article that reiterates what I have been expressing for over a year. In a breifing to the Parliamentary Joint Committee,AMP has said 25,000 jobs will be lost as a consequence of FOFA in it’s current drafting, for little gain to the people these changes are meant to benefit.
We should thank AMP for their honesty, as AMP has more to gain with it’s size and market share if FOFA went through unopposed.
It is refreshing that a big player has had the strength of character to stand up for the smaller adviser groups and individuals who work hard and honestly to help their clients through hard financial times and other bigger players could build a more loyal following if they did the same.
Totally agree with your sentiments Brad.
Low demand for risk advisers is not one bit surprising.
What with the consolidation of practices, people leaving the industry not wanting to put up with the FOFA nonesense, saturation advertising on TV for consumers to do it themselves and the general lack of desire by the underinsured public to do anything about their risk protection, is it any wonder.
Then with the brave new world of so called ‘opt in’ even more advisers will be opting out.
How will that help to make people more aware of what we can offer and provide the advice that is so badly needed? the What good will that do
Can we get to the nub of the matter here and stop pussy footing around on what the real problem is facing our industry. Nothing is going to improve our situation on little bit whilst this government remains in power, An idealogically driven agenda to bring about a one size fits all scheme administered by the banks and their salaried clerks will see the demise of our industry as it exists unless we can find a way to end the madness that is the current Labor government. If you can’t grasp that notion, you haven’t been reading the paoers or watching the news.
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