Non-aligned financial advice groups Synchron and Futuro have boosted their national presence with the addition of a new South Australia/Northern Territory state manager and three new offices, respectively.
Synchron has appointed former Regional Manager for Advice with Bank SA, Sheridan Wright as to the SA/NT State Manager role which gives the licensee an office and manager in each state.
Synchron Director, Don Trapnell said Wright’s appointment, which takes effect from 2 May, was part of the group’s efforts to increase its footprint in all states and to bring the full range of support experienced by other Synchron advisers to South Australia and the Northern Territory.
In a video message to Synchron staff and advisers Trapnell said, “Synchron has always been a very small company in South Australia, we intend to change that. We intend to have a footprint in South Australia that is no less than any other state.”
Futuro has also expanded its presence, adding three new offices in the first three months of 2017, continuing the pattern of adding one office a month throughout 2016.
Futuro Executive Chair, Dennis Bashford said the growth of new offices was separate from that of established offices adding new advisers as they grew and the group was attracting offices and advisers from institutional licensees as well as self-licenced advisers and smaller dealer groups.
Bashford said the latter were finding the costs and time required to operate their own licence had reduced revenues via less face to face time with clients and the non-aligned status of Futuro, including its open approved product list, had been a drawcard.
With the addition of these offices, Bashford said he had also seen advisers becoming less focused on dealer fees and were focusing on a wider range of issues when looking at moving to another licensee.
“Not so long ago the dealer fee was the primary criteria on which advisers selected their AFSL. Today, however, they are looking more closely at putting a fiscal value on the more abstract aspects of what an AFSL offers,” Bashford said.
“Things like independence, the quality of the compliance regime, a good complaint and PI claims track record, an open APL, high performing model portfolios, access to managed accounts, overall business and marketing support and so on are becoming much more important. All of which shows an increasing level of maturity among advisers themselves,” he added.
