Striver Podcast

What does the future of financial advice look like? Mark Akeroyd from UniSuper joins Alisdair Barr to discuss AI in advice, lessons from the U.S. wealth industry, and how advisers can deliver better, more personalised experiences while scaling advice to more Australians. 

What makes a firm a place where young professionals genuinely want to join? Alisdair and Whitney explore the "vibe," the expectations, and the make-or-break moments in the hiring journey—and how simple communication can transform the whole experience.

In this episode of the Striver Podcast, I sit down with Julia Newbold – founder of the Stella Network – to discuss how financial advice can reach more Australians and reflect the clients it serves. We cover practical ways advisers and firms can service clients across every demographic, the relaunch of the Stella Network, and the power of networks to drive change and growth in the profession. If yo...

How do we make quality financial advice accessible to more Australians? In our latest Striver Podcast, we sit down with Rachel White from Vanguard to explore both local and global solutions — from fresh industry approaches to international innovations — that could help solve this urgent challenge.

Introducing the 'New Class of Advisors' that promises to enhance accessibility to financial advice amid upcoming legislative changes.  I speak to Ben Marshan from Marshan Consulting about the impact of new legislative proposals, including the introduction of a "new class of advisor" and how this could reshape accessibility, affordability, and career pathways in financial planning. We discuss the c...

I asked Sharyn Baker, Head of Service and Operations at BT, "What does successful customer 'service' mean to you?"   In Sharon's words, it means providing predictable, consistent and reliable service to both your internal and external customers. Hear how success is measured and how optimisation is driven by Net Promoter Score (NPS) data from the service frontline of BT Panorama, which celebrates 1...

Iress, in collaboration with Deloitte Access Economics, has launched a landmark report on the future of financial advice in Australia. Hear from Marcus Field, Head of Growth and Partnerships at Iress as we unpack the seven megatrends set to usher in a new era of opportunity for advice and highlight the strategic choices that advisers, business owners and industry stakeholders need to make to come...

We often think about efficiency in business to be focused around process and software but what about individual effectiveness. My chat with Vanessa Bennett highlighted some ways to find 25% more effectiveness and at the same time manage burn out. I really enjoyed this chat....

Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. How do you get on the bandwagon to get results? Looking at current processes and easy wins is sometimes the best way to get on the efficiency wagon (or a bus, which is generally faster!). I spoke with Conrad Travers from Tangelo Advice Consulting, who has practical ideas of easy-wins to leverage your existing processes before you add any more 'efficiency softwar...

Phone call first, instant gratification and keeping it simple. This is what we expect from most experiences in our lives. But our attention spans are getting shorter and our digital habits are changing so how will that shape the next generation of apps? Speaking with Peter Worn from the Finura Group challenged some of the processes that we have and where we can get in our own way. Some interesting...

The beauty of technology is that it can be data-driven at every decision point. How can this apply to the very personable advice industry? I speak to Paul Feeney, Founder and CEO at Otivo, to tick off items from the wish-list of every at-capacity adviser.  

In an evolving landscape, brand is crucial at every phase of your business lifecycle. In this thought-provoking episode, Joshua Grace, Customer Office Group Executive at Colonial First State, explores how a robust and distinctive brand can help you attract your ideal clients, establish the right client expectations, enhance your profitability and fuel sustainable growth.

How will financial advice from a Super Fund change the game? To answer this question, Alisdair talks to Renae Anderson, Select Advice Manager, about UniSuper's 3-year strategy to increase their adviser talent pipeline, deliver advice to members moving into retirement and making advice more accessible to more Australians. More players in the advice game means more financial 'wins' for more Australi...

Segmentation is vital for advice practices, impacting financials, cost-to-serve, and fee consistency. How are top firms managing  segment identification and potential client off-boarding? Jackie Clark, National Education Manager at Colonial First State, joins us again to provide practical tips for getting started without excessive time or financial investment. Tune into this week's episode and dri...

Are client surveys a more powerful tool than we realise? This week, we unpack the full potential of a humble client survey. What's the best approach to them - ad hoc, formal, or a combination? With Jackie Clark, National Manager Education at Colonial First State, we reveal how surveys can fuel business innovation and anticipate future client needs. Apart from the validation, let's unlock the poten...

Now that generative AI has been released into the world, how do we (re)define ethics and privacy? ChatGPT and similar apps continue to dominate the headlines as its application widens. For educators and universities, it redefines the definition of plagiarism. For professional services, it creates a dilemma of ethics. I spoke to Cris Parker from the Ethics Centre to discuss how privacy is redefined...

This week, I spoke to Jackie Clark, National Education Manager at Colonial First State on the KEY metrics to evaluate if your business has the capacity to grow or grind to a halt if new clients come along. Find out what she has seen from businesses that have found success, and how you can do the same.

ChatGPT, an app with 57 million users as of January 2023, is a hot-topic on everyone's lips. It has changed the way we view education, entertainment and work. We love playing with it at Striver but what will it mean in our business? Our everyday lives?    I spoke to our good friend Dr. Magali Azema-Barac PhD, and subject matter expert on Artificial Intelligence, about the application of the app an...

Can you articulate your purpose simply and does it flow through to your systems and process in your business and then ultimately to your team and clients?  The landscape looking promising with client opportunities, and we believe the employment market will become easier, we speak to Andy Marshall about what are some of the key areas he talks to businesses about to make sure they are ready to make...

More often than not, education is one of the biggest costs for your client if they have children or grandchildren. Imagine - the return on investment from all those Birthday and Christmas gifts invested into their education rather than filling up the toy box...

That is definitely one of my favorite conversations! Magali share this 100% AI generated podcast with me a couple of weeks ago and I have not stopped thinking about it https://open.spotify.com/episode/28IaUZqRpjeoHHepqgG12U?si=jx9al-BCR4CiBVcaE3F3cg Magali has a PHD in Artificial intelligence and in this podcast we unpack what is happening here and just explore the tip of the iceberg of this new w...

We are having the same conversation multiple times a day with clients who are struggling to find great talent for their firms but there are some simple ways to improve your chances. We speak with Scott Bunny about the talent war cycles and how we can significantly improve the success in this short supply period...

Does a technology-enabled firm create better relationships with clients and staff? We speak to Angus Woods from Adviser Ratings who are investing heavily in the future of advice and believe that relationships are the key, I hope you enjoy.....

With recent global events, the demand for assurance and confidence through financial advice has spiked simultaneously as the number of accountants and financial planners decline. Given the talent pipeline is dwindling for these professions, I discuss with Paul Barrett, Chief Executive Officer at Next Generation Advisory, the ways advice can compete for talent in this booming profession.

Growing any profession with the next generation of talent has always taken a significant investment - both in the people themselves and as a collective profession. What are transferable skills that your profession needs? How can we identify these skills in this next generation? Is there a formula or a 'secret sauce' that we can use? I unpack all these questions with Daryl Stout, Senior Consultant...