Stay put advisers busy signing up quality clients

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

28 October 2021

Financial advisers are in short supply and it is showing up in the ease with which they are signing up quality new clients.

According to licensee executives, financial advisers have rarely been busier with many signing up quality clients in half the time it would usually take to bring them on board.

“The bottom line is that financial advisers are exiting the industry and orphan clients are looking for quality advisers,” he said.

Infocus Wealth Management chief executive, Darren Steinhardt confirmed the trend noting that the feedback from the firm’s advisers was that they could not get work out the door quick enough.

The phenomenon accords with reports to Financial Newswire by some advisers that they have rationalised their clients lists to reduce the number of “low value” clients, allowing them to devote more time to servicing higher value clients.

Steinhardt said that feedback from Infocus advisers was that the new clients could be described as being the mass affluent sector.

Synchron director, Don Trapnell acknowledged that the firm’s advisers but said that there was no competition for clients between advisers.

“The reality is that good advisers will always find quality clients,” he said.

“The reality is that there is a shortage of good financial advisers and certainly not enough to of them to service the level of demand that currently exists and that is because so many have been squeezed out of the industry.”

“Sadly, financial advice is becoming less affordable for those who most need it,” Trapnell said. “It is becoming something only affordable by the affluent.”