- Yes (47%)
- Not sure (32%)
- No (21%)
It seems to be something of a game of two halves going by the results of our latest adviser poll.
We asked whether your advice business would emerge in a viable position, post the Coronavirus crisis, and nearly half – or 47 percent – are confident they will.
But while there has been plenty of publicity around financial advice never having been so important to your clients, that didn’t stop nearly one third of advisers (32 percent) being unsure if their business would be viable once we all emerge from the crisis period.
Our poll also found that just over one in five advisers were pessimistic around the future of their business. Twenty one percent said their business would not remain viable.
If you are seeking additional support at the moment, perhaps Synchron’s virtual catch ups for advisors or Elixir’s free weekly webinar sessions might help you keep in touch with other advisers.
If it’s marketing that is a concern, our excellent article on Ten Marketing Tips To Help in a Time of Crisis might be of value for you.
Our poll remains open for another week and we welcome your contribution…
It would require a crystal ball with magic perception, to be able to determine the viability of advice businesses going forward.
Unless a vaccination arrives sooner rather than later, or the world makes a tough decision on freeing up and reopening the economies to allow Business to restart the engine, then it is difficult to see how things can kick start quickly.
One thing is certain, Banks are not charities and lenders do not forget or forgive debt.
The longer the self isolation continues, the deeper the hole we dig.
There has been a growing emphasis on the rights of the individual, which overrides the rights of the majority, even to the extent of causing mass disruption to the majority.
Worse still, there has not been enough thought to the “TOTAL” impact of closing down world wide economies.
The current Coronavirus is the 19th iteration and as sure as the sun rises every morning, there will be many more to come.
Are we going to close down the world economies every time a new outbreak occurs?
In life, like in Business, there are always hurdles to overcome.
It requires crystal balling all the scenarios and making sustainable changes that will not make the cure, potentially worse than the illness.
The LIF is a case in point.
One thing is certain, if we are still in lock down 12 months from now, then even the most optimistic advice practices today, will be rethinking their viewpoints.
Jeremy, are you comparing the challenge of Covid-19 with the challenge of LIF? I hope not. LIF never killed anyone.
Yes, a lot of people are asking lots of questions and seeking help. Many of these are in plans where the commission is about to be turned off and, of these, many are not suitable / viable to become full fee paying clients due to the size of their portfolios and other reasons. This commission model works for these people. One lady with a very modest investment did contact me for advice after trying unsuccessfully to call the fund manager direct for 2 days. Another who called about his investments commented that he had left a message with his industry fund several days earlier and was yet to receive a reply. Even if they did get through, the person on the other end of the phone can’t advise them in any way. So, what becomes of this class of client? Do we just say, “sorry, you will have to call the company direct from now on. And if you have to make an insurance claim, call one of the many legal firms now advertising in this space”. Is this the better outcome for the general outcome the government wants? Really? Why can’t a reasonable service fee be charged to this type of client without triggering the full gamut of an annual review, Fee Disclosure and the other BS that goes with it – requirements that simply make it not affordable to service them. My dealer group claims that any amount over $100 a year (yes, a year) will be considered an ongoing fee subject to these onerous requirements. A half hour phone call with a client would cost me more than that! Maybe this crisis might see some common sense return to the argument – but I doubt it.
As GregF has so rightly pointed out people are still confused on what they can and cannot apply for Of course the government wants them to access their Super why not ? Yes it’s not a good time with the market down but if we are not going through a dilemma that warrants it now there never will be one.
What is so disappointing is the way every politician ASIC Royal Commission LIF etc etc etc
have missed the very purpose of Grandfathered commissions A small amount paid to assist the smaller investor with questions and queries which at this point in time and under these horrific conditions has these mainly older clients worried and confused
I would never abandon any off them They have been life long clients friends and in many ways extended family but at the same time it’s hard to spend time with them for nothing just so the insurers and fund managers can keep them on the books and still charge investment fees ( what a joke they can and we cannot ) Wrong wrong and wrong this is certainly not what the LIF is supposedly about ?! How is the client particularly a long term client better off.
The small amount saved would have little effect on their eventual outcome and not having advice could very easily make the outcome worse
And of course they will never receive it charges will increase and that’s the end of that
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