Asteron Life has launched a new adviser education offering that will help advisers gauge the extent of further study they may be required to undertake.
The insurer stated that its Sophisticated Adviser education program would offer face to face and web-based training that covered soft skills, practice management and technical skills, and would receive CPD accreditation.
Asteron Life, Head of Life Intermediaries, Daniel Waller said the program was based on work undertaken with the Beddoes Institute to develop the Financial Advice Competency Framework whitepaper released late last year (see: AFA Paper to Present Industry View to FASEA) and included a complimentary education health check.
“Advisers can have their current qualifications checked by our partner Kaplan to determine if there are any gaps they need to consider, putting them on the right trajectory to meet the new standards when they are announced,” Waller said, adding that advisers could also receive assistance in enrolling in relevant prescribed courses.
Waller said the Sophisticated Adviser program was designed for all advisers and would enhance and broaden skills that would benefit clients and also build an advice business and the wider profession.
“By supporting a more rounded approach to education we will have advisers that are technically capable, can engage with clients on a personal level and will also have the skills to run a business,” he said.
While adviser education is important and keeping up with industry changes is fundamental, there’s another aspect which life offices and fund managers need to do better than they have. What’s that?
Deliver better service to advisers. This rarely gets a mention but is so entry-level to our success and to our clients. What’s that mean?
Well for one, how often do you get BDMs and client service officers first time on their contact numbers? How often do they respond within 24 hours if you don’t get them first time? And how often do inside staff respond at all?
All of this adds time, frustration and irritation to our businesses which are now almost untenable with the enormous compliance requirements and lower remuneration we’re experiencing.
My comment might be a bit off-point here, but is relevant overall because poor office backup adds yet another dimension to our already challenged lives. It could be a bit easier if this was addressed by product manufacturers.
Hi Paul,
I understand your frustration and like every industry there are good and bad. It comes down to the individual giving a hoot about the adviser but also the adviser not mistreating the BDM. I was a senior risk BDM and have gone back to adviser land. I understood the advisers world which is why i delivered on my promises, something other BDM’s can learn from, and did return calls and give exceptional service. What i was shocked at also being on the BDM side of the fence is the ill treatment of BDM’s by advisers. I had seen my past colleagues, and indeed myself, have worn the brunt of swearing and shouting advisers both to our faces but mostly behind the phone which was totally unacceptable behaviour. I was appalled at what i saw and heard. Advisers need to also look at their behaviour and show some mutual respect . I could write a book from my tenure as BDM and talk about the behaviours of both sides and one day i just may do that. Everyone will be shocked!
The one who does give a rats.
Well, that’s seeing things from the other perspective, Karyn. Yes, absolute rudeness is out of order. A person can make their point without becoming personal; indeed, it should never be personal.
That said, my point stands. We simply don’t get sufficient support from internal staff. My thought has always been: employers offer incentive programmes for processing, underwriting and completing business. This would quicken turnaround times no end and we’d all be happier. It would be like living happily ever after!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Asteron you can forget working with Guardian advisers after the way they were are being treated by the Suncorp group. The lack of professionalism shown by the group towards advisers and in particular with the project ORANGE means that most will never deal with anything to do with Suncorp!!
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