Owners of financial planning practices must reserve time to develop the business and make a decision between serving clients and serving the business according to the general manager of a leading advice business.
Brendan Cox, general manager of Complete Financial Balance (CFB) – which was the Association of Financial Advisers Practice of the Year 2014 – said practices need to consider what they do next when the principal is pulled by obligations to provide advice and operate as business leader.
“The key question that is often asked is at what point do I appoint a general manager or practice manager? Well, what does the business plan say?,” Cox said as part of his address to a Most Trusted Adviser webinar hosted by the Beddoes Institute recently.
“Time must be reserved by the business leader to develop the business and if that is an adviser than they have to choose if they limit the clients they service or if they focus on the business.”
“Time must be reserved by the business leader to develop the business…”
He also stated that his appointment to CFB provided its directors with two key perspectives, the first being outward and strategic and the second inward and operational.
“The outward view I share with the directors and we check and reaffirm that with external factors around the business. The second released the directors for new business, clients and family.”
Cox stated that CFB appointed him as general manager when its directors realised they had reached high levels in advice and planning but needed someone else to come in and further build the practice’s team and capabilities.
“The big difference is knowing what a general manager will do for a practice. It may be tempting to look for people with relationships to product providers or software providers but the benefits that are really needed are skills and objectivity so look for someone without ties and ask questions of what they can do for the practice.”
