Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice

Don't you hate it when you are really getting into a 2000's sitcom, and the writers go on leave mid season, so the producers peice together a clip episode of throw back moments from throughout the show? Well, I hope not, because that's what we have gone and done. With a full year of episodes under our belt, Nathan thought it would be great look glance in the rear window and boy did he regret it. ...

How do you feel about the process you follow when you're bringing on clients? Are you one of those unicorns we hear about that has every, single element nailed down so the whole thing is tight as a drum? Or are you like the rest of us - it's  fine . I mean, it could be better, but it could be worse.  Right? Right...? Well, in this week's episode, Nathan and Jordan unpack the steps they follow when...

Advisers are, famously, an empathetic bunch of people.  So, let's imagine a situation our clients could very possibly find themselves in this festive season.  Christmas lunch with the extended family. The matriarch of the family is at the head of the table, with the various siblings, cousins, in-laws and hangers on scattered around the festive tablecloth and grossly optimistic piles of food.  Wine...

Following what was a steep learning curve for both of our hosts, in this episode Jordan and Nathan reflect on each episode and wrap up their thoughts on best practice for PY.  They cover The importance of communication and structure for a PY.  The cost/investment in the PY for a business Staging PYs for greater skill and advice capability in your business How they would roll out a PY Nathan : advi...

As part of preparing for this PY series, Nathan and Jordan put together a survey and asked people to provide some feedback on  their experience of the PY.  Employees. Business owners. Partners. Associates. Anybody with an opinion on the subject.  In an outcome both surprising and gratifying for Nathan and Jordan, people actually responded! And their answers are thoughtful, useful, insightful and,...

This week, Jordan and Nathan speak with Danielle Waugh - Advice Education Manager from TAL's Risk Academy - about: TAL's commitment and contribution to the PY process Insights she's found from working with multiple practices, across multiple licensees Why some of the terminology can be a little bit misleading   This is a really interesting discussion because Danielle does a great job in providing...

This episode of our Professional Year 'mini-series' is all about that pathway from university to the world of advice - and where the PY piece fits into that entire puzzle.  Nathan and Jordan are joined by Alisdair Barr of Striver, a key player in the recruitment, training and retention of new talent in advice.  Alisdair takes us through: Their ambitious goal of helping find the next 5,000 advisers...

In this week's episode, Jordan and Nathan are continuing their exploration of the Professional Year. They're joined by Phil Thompson from Skye Wealth this week, who with his characteristic openness and generosity, shares the structure they've built to help people grow through the PY.  Phil explains: The structure they've built to bring on, develop and grow people through the process. Why they don'...

So, what's the deal with this professional year thing? How's it work, why do we have it, what's wrong with it - what's  right with it? In this week's quick episode, Jordan and Nathan introduce the framework for their upcoming series on the Professional Year (PY).  Specifically, why they're doing this. Why bother dedicating multiple episodes to something that - at this stage at least - has  no bear...

Financial advisers were up in arms a few months ago, at the introduction of a new 'lite' version of financial adviser being introduced to the market. These 'Qualified Advisers' wouldn't have the obligations of fully fledged advisers, and clients would be vulnerable to the same harms we've all spent years trying to eliminate.  Yet - there's  already another tier of 'adviser' in the market who have...

This week's episode sees Vanessa Bennett, from Next Evolution Performance join Jordan and Nathan which, given how often her work has been referenced on this podcast, is timely! In this episode, Vanessa discusses: The corrosive impact ambiguity can have in the workplace. How an awareness of neuroscience can empower leaders to build the best environment for their team. Why multi-tasking is a myth -...

Working out how much life, TPD, trauma and income protection insurance someone needs used to be a key part of a financial adviser's training. But with the decline of insurance, Nathan and Jordan thought it might be worth revisiting this crucial, but often controversial topic. They discuss: how they each come up with their insurance coverage recommendations how falling in love with an overly compli...

There are two incredibly significant days in the life of any business owner - the day they buy it, and the day they sell it.  Which is why Nathan and Jordan have invited Steve Prendeville of Forte Asset Solutions on to the pod this week. Steve's been a key part of the M & A landscape for financial advisers for long enough to give clear insights on: the multiples in the market - how much, and what...

SMSFs - we've got a few thoughts on them.  And, well, you should know before listening that those thoughts are really far from positive.  In this week's episode, Jordan and Nathan do what they can to annoy those advisers out there using SMSFs responsibly. They don't do it deliberately - they're here to call out the rogues, the one-size-fits-all, conflict-heavy, bias brigade.  But it gets...well, i...

This week's episode sees independent financial advisers Nathan Fradley and Jordan Vaka unpacking another very niche, very specific topic for their fellow financial advisers - retirement villages. Not Aged Care facilities, which are different again.  But rather the over 55s, 'lifestyle', retirement villages becoming more and more popular with our on-the-cusp-of-retiring clients.  They unpack: the d...

AFCA. All advisers will have an opinion on the ombudsman. Good, or more frequently, bad. But what if there's more to the story? What if, perhaps, AFCA has been a convenient boogeyman for people to throw at advisers as part of their compliance regime - "well, you know how AFCA can be, so you better put it in our 96 page SOA template, just to be sure". So Nathan and Jordan invited Shail Singh, Lead...

What do you do if a new client comes in, having received poor advice from another adviser? On this weeks episode Jordan and Nathan discuss the complexity that comes with dobbing in poor advice including Assessing if it is infact poor advice,  Whether you should speak to the adviser yourself, Whether the client wants to do anything about it & If this consideration changes when you beleive this to b...

There's no such thing as a pre-nup in Australia right?  That's at least what many people believe.  This week, Jordan and Nathan welcome special guest Jemma Mackenzie from Forte Family Lawyers on the podcast to dispell that myth, and explore the how and why of Binding Finanical Agreements for people before a relationship, during a relationship or after a relationship.    You can reach Jemma at http...

Going out on your own isn't for the faint of heart - it's intimidating, stressful and plain old hard.  However, it can also be tremendously rewarding building your own thing, the way you think it should be done.  So this week, Jordan and Nathan explore what it looks like to really go out on your own. Between them, they've started more than their share of financial planning firms, so they bring tha...

In this week's episode, Nathan and Jordan examine a big issue that ALL practitioners are going to have to confront in their career - our client's capacity to provide details, instructions and decisions with our advice.  Nathan and Jordan discuss: What IS client capacity and what are the different forms it takes? Why should financial advisers care? What are some tips for advisers to follow when nav...

Financial advice is financial advice. Simple, right? Well, not when you think about the evolving spectrum of options we advisers have to choose from. Do you want to focus on technical advice? Product advice? Goals-based advice? Or values-based advice? Or something different again? What are these different approaches, what motivates these distinctions and, crucially – does who stands to benefit det...

Has the advice profession ever been as united as it is now in the face of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort? Nathan and Jordan have certainly spent more time than is healthy railing about it - even to the point of alluding to these eye-rolling sessions of exasperation in recent episodes.  But instead of just ranting and raving, we thought the more sensible path would be to invite a knowledgea...

It's that time of year again! Where we advisers put ourselves under huge amounts of pressure to meet the deadline of the end of the financial year.  From superannuation contributions to CPD points to those hardy souls still running on a year-end FDS regimen, it's a time of strain, pressure and, to be honest, sacrifice.  So Jordan and Nathan spend some time in this week's episode discussing what Ju...

Risk advice is dead - but nobody seems to have told this week's guest, Phil Thompson of Skye Wealth.  Phil's a business person who happens to own one of the fastest growing and, to our knowledge, most efficient risk-only practices in the country.  In this week's episode, he helps us better understand: The perpetual evolution of systems, processes and policies that drive his business How his focus...

In this week's episode, Jordan and Nathan discuss the Professional Year.  We're a few years into this addition to our profession, so they discuss it from a few different perspectives: How it compares to how other professions tackle the idea of on-the-job experience. the opportunities it offers new advisers, employers and the profession as a whole.  some views on it from an employer's perspective....