How wealth practices are balancing quality with quantity

Entrepreneurial financial advisers in Australia are proving that growing and scaling an advice practice is still achievable, even as data shows some firms are reducing their client base.

According to the Investment Trends 2024 Adviser Business Model report, advisers are servicing fewer clients than in previous years, with the average dropping to 99 active clients in 2024 from 120 in 2023. This reflects an industry shift towards prioritising personalisation over volume.

While many firms are managing increasing demands that require a more diverse skillset—leaving less time for growth initiatives—there are still wealth practices successfully balancing both quality and quantity. Firms that leverage external expertise and investment platforms are better positioned to expand their offerings, particularly when catering to high-net-worth (HNW) and wholesale clients.

Mason Stevens, a leading investment platform, is helping wealth practices scale by providing access to institutional-grade investment capabilities and an outsourced Chief Investment Office (CIO) service. This partnership allows advisers to enhance their client offerings without the need for costly in-house resources.

“At Mason Stevens, we are passionate about supporting wealth practices to scale and grow,” said Jacqueline Fernley, Chief Investment Officer at Mason Stevens. “That’s why, alongside providing a leading wealth platform, we have developed our outsourced CIO offering, which is all about the journey toward managed account solutions and the ongoing partnership thereafter.”

By using Mason Stevens’ outsourced CIO solution, advisers can navigate the transition to managed accounts while offering the sophisticated investment solutions expected by HNW clients. The platform also provides access to all asset classes, multi-currency capability, real time execution, IPOs, hybrids, small denomination over-the-counter fixed income securities and alternative investments.

Amanda Boyce, Head of Advice at Euroz Hartleys, shared how the firm has benefited from partnering with Mason Stevens: “We draw on their outsourced CIO capabilities to bring institutional-grade insights and solutions to our clients, enhancing the service we provide.”

Ms Fernley said by leveraging the platform’s global investments, contemporary investment solutions and unique insights into a range of investment options, advisers could provide clients with a comprehensive investment offering while still having time to focus on what they did best: building trust and providing strategic financial advice.

From an operational perspective, it could also enable firms to redirect valuable resources towards strategy and business development.

Mason Stevens Chief Platform Officer Vien Luong and his team develop the platform’s capabilities to support the various investment solutions.

This requires them to have a deep and evolving understanding of advisers’ needs.

‘Retail focused advisers generally seek platforms that provide ease of use, broad connectivity to other service providers and tools that make their advice implementation efficient,’ Mr Luong said.

‘Advice firms that are more focused on the investment process gravitate toward platforms that can offer a diverse range of investment products and services.’

Mason Stevens caters to both, aiming to be a growth engine for a broad range of advisers’ businesses and their clients.

‘For advice firms seeking to build out a more investment focused offering for their clients, such as through the use of managed accounts, we can offer the appropriate investment support, product structure, governance and compliance framework in addition to the necessary administration and technology capabilities to enable growth which would otherwise be cost prohibitive to these businesses.’

Advice firm, United Advisory, began working with Mason Stevens in 2022 as part of a strategic goal to move away from traditional risk profiling and into more objective-orientated advice for its clients.

United Advisory CEO Pim John Van Gestel said the firm was attracted to the flexibility Mason Stevens offered.

‘They enabled us to build our investment committee internally and provide solutions and analytics and all the technical data that the investment committee needs to be able to make informed decisions for the portfolios,’ he said.

Five Ways Mason Stevens Helps Wealth Practices Scale:

1.Access to institutional-grade investment capabilities and a professional investment team without the cost and management requirements of an in-house team

2.Support from a dedicated Outsourced CIO service to help clients transition to a managed account solution that is tailored to them.

3.Cost effective support with product structure, governance and compliance frameworks, in addition to the necessary administration and technology capabilities

4.Exclusive access to investment opportunities clients wouldn’t normally have access to, such as IPOs, 55 international stock exchanges, private market deals, and wholesale fixed income including OTC bonds and hybrids, among many others.

5.Enhancing client engagement through expert market insights and portfolio updates.

Wealth practices looking to grow and scale can leverage the resources and expertise of Mason Stevens to deliver the sophisticated solutions their clients demand while focusing on building trust and providing strategic advice.

Content Partnership sponsored by Mason Stevens

About Mason Stevens

Mason Stevens is a leading provider of integrated wealth platform technology that uniquely focuses on investor portfolio outcomes. More than just an administration platform, the innovative technology, paired with experienced investment specialist support, empowers advisers to deliver on their clients’ investment objectives via an unconstrained investment universe.

Established in 2010, the privately owned firm has circa A$8 billion of assets on platform. Led by some of Australia’s most experienced finance and investment professionals, the company has over 80 staff nationally with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. It’s known for its investment capability, forming genuine partnerships with clients, and unlocking new growth opportunities for wealth practices.

To find out more about how we can help you grow and scale your wealth practice, visit our website or contact us here.