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who do you care about most?

This is an article by Warren Gibson, Præmium's Head of Australian Sales and a Director of Præmium Australia Pty Ltd, who writes the following opinion piece in his personal capacity.

In the face of a few recent surveys that suggest shifting from commission to a fee-for-service model is too difficult to obtain client approval, and/or results in falling revenue for the adviser, it appears once more that many respondents to these surveys are still more concerned about themselves than their clients.

Whilst an adviser losing out on revenue is hardly good for the client - as the adviser may not be able to continue providing optimal service - the results of the survey do not necessarily follow.

Moving from commission to fee-for-service does not have to mean the adviser loses revenue or the client pays more. 

In fact, service delivery, taking advantage of improved management and reporting technology can raise service levels, lower the cost to the client and retain revenue for the adviser - a win-win situation for all parties; except perhaps for the dealer group, the wrap platform and the fund manager.

Yet at the end of the day, who do you care about most, these organisations, or your clients and your business?

By employing technology based processes for assessing client risk and determining direct investment solutions, an adviser can unwind their clients from high cost managed funds, particularly in the equities area, and the reporting platforms they sit on (the combination of which are inefficient on many fronts). 

In doing so, an adviser can put more focus on strategic planning for the client - a bit like a travel agent organising an overseas holiday. They focus on organising the timing and logistics, bookings and reservations, tours and sightseeing, even meals. They advise on overall travel strategy, insurance, the value of optional extras, cost effectiveness of alternative means of travel and so on.  And that's what financial planners do best - they plan! Hence the name financial planner, and hence knowing your client and employing best practice.

The FPA declares that "Financial planning is the process of developing strategies to help you manage your financial affairs so you can build wealth, enjoy life and achieve financial security". The adviser should be responsible for managing the client relationship, recommending strategies that meet needs and goals and outsource everything else that involves investing. In that way the adviser can hire and fire the investment adviser based on performance, and thereby insulate and protect their relationship with the client. The adviser is then seen as the client advocate.

Of course there will be costs associated with restructuring a practice from commission to fee-for-service which may cause some short term financial pain for the adviser to the extent of the time it takes, retraining staff, upgrading or buying new technology or outsourcing the implementation altogether, but the result will be a metamorphosis from shop front to business, from product sales to financial advice services, from sales assistant to professional... where the industry deserves to be and where the consumer wants you to be.

enhancements to billing schedule!

Several enhancements have been made recently to the billing calculation function in V-Wrap. The enhancements mainly relate to the screen areas and navigation buttons.  For example, the screen has been divided into three sections:

Changes to the names for buttons include:

These changes have been made to make the button functions clearer and to avoid ambiguity with the portfolio recalculation function.  For more information, please log in to V-Wrap under System Messages or contact the Client Service team via email at mail@praemium.com.au .

enhancements to p-desktop!

A number of enhancements have also been made to p-Desktop recently.  They are as follows:

For more information, please log in to V-Wrap under System Messages or contact the Client Service team via email at mail@praemium.com.au .

webinar: BGL 998 account

Join Scott Jackson and Michael Mihalic, Præmium's Relationship Development Team, as they provide group online training (webinar) in respect to the BGL - 998 Account.

Date: Wednesday, 21 October 2009                  Time:           11 - 11.45 am

There is no charge to attend our webinar service, however, you must register.  To register for this session, click here.

portfolio protection - BlackRock's Capital Protected Top 20

Many of us insure our assets, like our house and car, yet not many of us protect other large assets such as our "investment portfolios". With financial market uncertainty, protecting your portfolio for 100% of your initial investment upon maturity may be preferred by some investors. The BlackRock Capital Protected Top 20 allows investors to mitigate the risks of investing through exposure to the top 20 Australian securities while maintaining 100% protection of their underlying investment.

Investors have beneficial ownership of the underlying shares which allows them to receive dividends, take advantage of any franking credits, and perform individual tax parcelling - but now with 100% capital protection on the initial investment, upon maturity.

Investors can also view online, the underlying securities they own in their individual portfolio, daily performance and valuations of their portfolio, dividends and franking credits as they are received, purchases and sales.

NEXT AVAILABLE OFFER CLOSING DATE: 1 NOVEMBER 2009

Click here for a copy of the PDS. Click here for further information regarding the Capital Protected Top 20, or alternatively contact BlackRock's Adviser Services Centre on 1300 366 101.

This information is of a general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances, financial needs or objectives. While Praemium Australia Pty Limited AFSL 297956 and its related entities (‘Præmium') endeavour to provide accurate and timely information Præmium do not guarantee that the information is accurate at the date it is published or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of it and the relevant product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. In particular, individuals should seek independent financial advice and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or other offer document prior to acquiring a financial product.

combined planning & accounting groups embrace Powerwrap

Following its recent market release, Powerwrap has introduced a number of new advisory groups to its new platform, and is on the brink of announcing a number of significant new wholesale relationships with leading financial planning firms.

Commenting on the roll-out of its new platform, Head of Distribution, David Harris said: "Powerwrap has developed an industry solution for financial planning and accounting practices to achieve business efficiencies through the use of modern investment administration and tax management functionality that is not available from the traditional wrap account and master trust providers."

"Powerwrap is taking a selective focus on servicing high quality combined financial planning and accounting practices around Australia.  We are working in close partnership with Praemium Limited, to ensure the needs of the combined planning and accountancy practices are at the forefront of service delivery."

Based on Praemium's market leading investment administration technology, Powerwrap clients benefit from the traditional custodial and transaction services supported with Praemium's market leading investment reporting and tax management functionality.

One of the key factors in advisers using the Powerwrap Investment Account is the ability of the Powerwrap Platform to support client demands for more sophisticated investment outcomes.  "Increasingly, this requires a greater focus on direct assets, and the ability to report and manage tax outcomes at the consolidated portfolio level."

Praemium Group CEO, Arthur Naoumidis said the introduction of a modern wrap platform to the Australian financial planning market is significant, as it allows planners and accountants to deliver better service to their clients at a lower cost than the traditional master trust and wrap providers.

For more information on Powerwrap, please contact:

David Harris
Head of Distribution, Powerwrap
Ph: 03 8681 4604
Email: davidharris@powerwrap.com.au

other upcoming events

A number of seminars and workshops will take place in the next couple of months that may be of interest to you. 

2009 Accountants' Technology Showcase Australia (ATSA)

Taking place on 19 & 20 October 2009 in Sydney, the theme for this year Accountants' Technology Showcase Australia (ATSA) conference is Increase Practice Profitability Through New Processes and Technology.

As a proud sponsor of this event, we are pleased to offer Præmium clients a 15% discount on the registration fee.  Please include the promotional code PRA18 on the registration/ application form.

2009 FPA National Conference

The upcoming 2009 FPA National Conference in Melbourne on 18 - 20 November takes on the theme of The Professional Edge.

As a proud sponsor of  this event featuring the very latest in technical content, professional development, networking opportunities and an exciting Trade Expo, we look forward to seeing you there.

This year Præmium will join with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to promote the concept V-Wrap - the Universal Wrap as a solution to deliver low cost direct investing with high quality reporting.

V-Wrap - the Universal Wrap will help advisers meet consumer demand for greater transparency, reduced cost of investing and satisfy the push to abolish commissions between product providers and advisers.  V-Wrap - the Universal Wrap will fit whatever fee-for-service structure advisers wish to consider.  

For more information on this conference, please click here.

recent announcements & in the press

In case you missed the following recent announcements from Præmium or articles in the press, you can read it by clicking the link below:

You can view other ASX Announcements or articles in relation to Praemium at any time by visiting our ASX Announcements or In the Press section of the website.

 

Disclaimer: The information in this publication is of a general nature. While Præmium Limited and its related bodies (‘Præmium') endeavour to provide accurate and timely information Præmium do not guarantee that the information in this publication is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. Views expressed by contributors and/or services described which are provided by third parties are not necessarily endorsed by Præmium. No responsibility is accepted by Præmium for the accuracy of that information, and Præmium in no way takes any responsibility whatsoever for material contained on external websites referred to in this publication. 

 

 

in this issue...

tip of the month

p-Desktop idle time out

p-Desktop will log you out of the session if there is no activity within the given timeout period.

The default period is 20 minutes. However, if you wish to change this setting, please go to Tools > Options, and click on ‘Preferences'. 

Amend the time (in minutes) and click ‘Update'.

 
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Praemium will never ask for your username or password via email, furthermore, we will never call you directly and ask for your details. All such communications should be directed through our Client Services team on +613 8622 1222