The small practice rollercoaster

Over the course of my 30-plus years in financial services, I’ve had the privilege of working for some amazing organisations of various shapes and sizes both in Australia and overseas. 

I’ve spent almost half of this period as a business owner and CEO, so I have a deep appreciation of the pressures and pleasures that come with that position. I also have a healthy respect for and awareness of the fact that a thriving profession benefits from having genuine diversity in the participants that make it up.

Single-practitioner and smaller multi-adviser firms make up a large part of our industry and they will be a key enabler for new entrants gaining experience and driving innovation to support future demand.   

At the same time, the demand for financial advice continues to exceed the available supply of quality advisers. There are multiple factors influencing this dynamic, including the shifting regulatory landscape, an ageing population, increased property and superannuation values and the wave of intergenerational wealth transfer that will continue over the next 30 years. 

Iress and Deloitte’s Advice in 2030: The Big Shift report discusses these factors in detail and quantifies the increase in demand for advice, suggesting that circa-500,000 new customers will enter the market before the end of the decade. 

Decisions, decisions

Recent conversations with smaller practice principals have prompted me to share some thoughts and insights around the rollercoaster ride many advice firms will be on as they look to drive growth and capture some of this new client demand.