{"id":79866,"date":"2025-10-28T12:24:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T01:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=79866"},"modified":"2025-11-03T08:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T21:49:13","slug":"golden-age-for-financial-advice-on-the-horizon-bombora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2025\/10\/28\/golden-age-for-financial-advice-on-the-horizon-bombora\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Golden Age\u2019 for Financial Advice on the Horizon – Bombora"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Predictions that Australia\u2019s financial advice profession is poised to enter a golden age thanks to a “mining boom of advice\u201d attracted plenty of reader interest this week…<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bombora’s new Managing Director, Niall McConville<\/strong>, told advisers at its 2025 Bombora Advice Conference that the coming decade represents a \u201cgolden age\u201d for financial advice in Australia \u2014 but only if advisers seize the opportunity to innovate, collaborate, and adapt to change.<\/p>\n

Addressing the network for the first time in his new role, McConville said he was energised by the talent and unity within Bombora\u2019s national group of 23 advice practices. \u201cEverywhere I look, there\u2019s opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me, the next five or ten years are going to be the mining boom of advice \u2014 we\u2019re at the start of something truly transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driving Collective Scale and Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n

McConville confirmed the formation of a Bombora Board of Advice \u2014 a six-member panel representing advisers from across Australia \u2014 designed to shape the licensee\u2019s strategic direction. Early initiatives from the board include a revamp of professional development days and a focus on \u201cmaximising our scale\u201d through greater collaboration between practices.<\/p>\n

He urged advisers to view Bombora not as a centralised directive body but as a partnership: \u201cIt\u2019s your business, your decision,\u201d he said, emphasising that collective input will drive better client outcomes in areas such as underwriting, pricing, and service standards.<\/p>\n

Addressing the TPD Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

A major concern for the industry, McConville warned, is the growing instability in Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) products \u2014 which he described as \u201cthe next IDII.\u201d With several insurers already increasing premiums and others set to follow, he said advisers face difficult affordability conversations with clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cAPRA won\u2019t intervene this time,\u201d he cautioned. \u201cIt\u2019s up to us as an industry to solve this problem.\u201d McConville confirmed Bombora will soon issue guidance on how advisers can address these challenges in client conversations and product recommendations. (See also: Swiss Re \u2018Pauses\u2019 New Business Activities<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Focus on Growth, Retention and Client Value<\/strong><\/p>\n

McConville outlined several strategic priorities for Bombora in the year ahead, including:<\/p>\n

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  1. The recruitment of around 20 new advisers to the network<\/li>\n
  2. Expansion of the Bombora Claims Service<\/li>\n
  3. Greater support for business retention<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    He revealed that discussions are underway with life insurers on how Bombora can take on elements of client retention to free up advisers\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

    The Bombora Claims Service \u2014 already used by four practices \u2014 will continue to expand both within and beyond the network, providing outsourced claims management to financial planning firms no longer active in life insurance.<\/p>\n

    Harnessing AI and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Artificial intelligence also featured strongly in McConville\u2019s vision and at the Conference itself. He announced plans to run practical AI education sessions and floated the idea of hiring an AI specialist within the Bombora network to help practices integrate tools safely and effectively. Advisers were urged to avoid \u201cfree\u201d AI platforms due to privacy concerns and instead invest in secure, paid alternatives.<\/p>\n

    Future Growth Avenues: General and Group Advice<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Looking ahead, McConville reaffirmed his commitment to expanding general advice and group insurance offerings as scalable avenues for growth. He confirmed referral programs with NEOS and TAL are set to launch before Christmas, and discussions are underway to extend group insurance options to client businesses and referral partners.<\/p>\n

    He closed by inviting advisers to discuss equity participation and succession planning opportunities, reinforcing Bombora\u2019s intention to be \u201can active business partner\u201d in helping practices grow.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Principals and support colleagues from 23 advice practices around the country joined with other key industry contributors at the 2025 Bombora National Conference in Hobart last week. New MD, Niall McConville, foreshadowed a ‘golden age’ ahead for financial advice in Australia…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Predictions that Australia\u2019s financial advice profession is poised to enter a golden age thanks to a “mining boom of advice\u201d attracted plenty of reader interest this week… Bombora’s new Managing Director, Niall McConville, told advisers at its 2025 Bombora Advice Conference that the coming decade represents a \u201cgolden age\u201d for financial advice in Australia \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":79939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,6,8291],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-conferences-and-events","category-dealer-groups","category-story-of-the-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}