2015 AFA Conference Cairns 26 October 2015 | Day 2

07Social media wrap

04Photos

06AFA Foundation

01AFA CEO Brad Fox

02Advice in 2020

Standing up for risk advisersAlex Burke

The Association of Financial Advisers remained a part of the Life Insurance Framework discussions to avoid a “lottery” in the Senate, according to chief executive Brad Fox.

Opening day two of the conference, Fox dis-cussed the AFA narrative and the issues affecting financial advice. He argued that the AFA’s role in the Life Insurance Framework discussions was to prevent regulatory intervention.

“Once these discussions go to parliament it just becomes a lottery. You wanted to retain hybrid commissions so we had to remain in the tent,” he said.

He emphasised the ongoing importance of insurance advice and said that commissions models must allow advisers to recoup the cost of their services.

“We all conceded that high upfront com-missions had to go, but we maintain that the 80%/20% hybrid model is the best way forward. And a one-year clawback, because we already have the best-interest duty,” he added.

To illustrate both the value of insurance advice and the need for appropriate remuneration, Fox recounted how his niece had recently had a child, and wanted to do the “adult thing” and take out life insurance.

“They’re trying to make the difficult choice

between what insurance is appropriate for them while paying off a mortgage, raising a child, retaining a social life, and she works one day a week while her husband is farming crocodiles, making $54,000 a year,” he said.

“There’s no robo-advice tool that’s going to solve that situation, because those are her own priorities, and it’s a very personal decision. But the adviser who helped her with that couldn’t make up the cost of advice from the upfront com-mission.

“We need to find a way to move forward, because the demand for financial advice is still growing.”

Despite the uncertain regulatory climate, Fox observed that, “there’s more excitement this year than last year about moving their advice businesses forward. Advisers are embracing the digital revolution and finding ways to have better proximity with their clients.

“There’s nothing that holds us back from being at the cutting edge of advice.”

#AFAau I @AFA_Voice

facebook.com/AFAvoice

au.linkedin.com/in/afavoice

Charles Badenach of Main Street Financial Services has been awarded the 2015 AFA Excellence in Education Award.

The award, which is sponsored by Asteron Life, is now in its eighth year. It recognises advisers who are continu-ally investing in themselves, their staff, their businesses and their communi-ties, through professional development and higher education and making a positive change to the perception of financial advisers.

Education in advice have been in the spotlight in recent months as major banks have increased entry standards and the government’s response to the Financial System Inquiry has signalled that new advisers will need a degree to enter the industry.

AFA general manager of member services, partnerships and Campus AFA, Nick Hakes, said Badenach exem-plifies the essential characteristics and values of a professional financial adviser through his commitment to excellence in knowledge, behaviour, attitude and accountability.

He added that raising levels of industry education and knowledge is fundamental to the AFA’s vision of great advice for more Australians.

“We know that increasing both the technical and practical education of

advisers is vital to improving consumer confidence in our profession,” he said.

“Charles has demonstrated his ability to apply technical expertise to real-world practice and has a passion to share his knowledge and know-how with other advisers. Charles is a great ambassa-dor for the value of investing in higher education.”

Asteron Life executive manager, Mark Vilo, said the value of education in the professional development of advisers has never been so important.

“We have and continue to view education as an important measure in the level of professionalism consumers expect and demand of their financial adviser. This award recognises that IQ and EQ are intrinsically linked, and equally important in delivering an overall amazing client experience.”

The other finalists were Harvest Wealth’s Lyn Heaysman, Wealthwise’s Joseph Hoe, Powe Financial Advice’s Ka-ren Walmsley, Tilea Wealth’s Tim Hall and Jawad Ahmad from Morgan Stanley.

The association also held its annual graduation ceremony for advisers who had gained accreditations through Campus AFA. Gerald Grubwinkler, Joanna Cullinan, Trish Wilson, David Gates, Steven Knight and Glen James all collected certificates.

Financial advice in 2020Alex Burke

A suite of digital tools will make planner client engagement much easier by 2020, according to netwealth chief executive Matt Heine.

Heine pointed to the expanding role of “robo-ad-vice” services in the US, noting recent high-profile developments in the space, such as BlackRock’s acquisition of FutureAdvisor.

“This is becoming a central part of how Ameri-can consumers interact with financial institutions. It’s the mainstream over there,” he argued.

He said that the fintech boom is “attacking all parts of financial services,” citing the ATO’s expanding use of data matching and the efficiencies gained through SuperStream as examples – even if, he conceded, adoption in Australia has been relatively slow.

To illustrate how financial advice might work for Australian consumers in five years’ time, Heine used ‘Meg’ as a case study. Meg, he explained, would wake up to an emailed simple portfolio sum-mary generated by a “robo-journalist.”

From that, he continued, she would discover that an earthquake had affected industrial areas in Japan, to which she had some equity expo-sure. She would start a video conference with her adviser, who would have a “heat map” to determine which clients had the most exposure to earthquake-afflicted areas in their portfolios and provide recommendations accordingly.

After making a decision based on her adviser’s rec-ommendations, Meg would then take a photo of herself to be used for facial recognition to confirm authorisation for her adviser to make the relevant transactions.

He described this process as “context-aware advice” and argued that the amount of mobile tools and services already available could facilitate this kind of dynamic adviser-client relationship.

“All that remains is for the industry to start using it,” he said.

Gerry Porter receives Michael Murphy Award Mark Smith

The AFA has awarded the prestigious Michael Murphy Award to Gerry Porter of Synchron.

The award is a tribute to an individual who has contributed substantially and consistently to the AFA advice community and is named in honour of the late Michael Murphy who was its inaugural 2009 winner. A distinguished member of the AFA, Murphy lost his battle with cancer in 2012.

As a former Queensland state director of the AFA, Porter has been dubbed the grandfather of GenXt, an AFA initiative that began in 2006 to bridge the gap in knowledge, skills, experience

and networks between experienced advisers and new entrants to the profession.

AFA chief executive Brad Fox was the inaugural national chair of GenXt in his first year as an adviser.

He said: “Over a period of many years Gerry has displayed the outstanding characteristics that make him such a worthy recipient of the award.

“As a member of the AFA community, as a member of his own community and as a financial adviser, Gerry personifies what it means to be a professional and a leader in our industry. The contribution GenXt has made to accelerate the careers of hundreds of advisers over the last 10

years was possible because Gerry led the charge to develop the initiative and to mentor those advis-ers tasked with bringing GenXt to life.”

Previous winners of the award include indus-try veterans Joe Nowak, Hugh Crawford and Bernie Toohey.

The AFA also presented its Recognition Awards, awarded in appreciation of the tireless work performed by members of the AFA com-munity on behalf of the association. The AFA’s 2015 Recognition Award winners are: CommIn-sure’s Olivia Sarah-Le Lacheur, The Beddoes Institute’s Rebecca Sheils, Zurich’s Richard Dunkerley and IOOF’s Nathan Morgan.

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2015 AFA Conference Cairns 26 October 2015 | Day 22

Badenach wins Excellence in Education Award

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2015 CONFERENCE

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PHOTOS DAY 2

2015 AFA Conference Cairns 26 October 2015 | Day 24

Day 2 | Cairns 26 October 2015 2015 AFA Conference 5

WOMEN TO INHERIT 70% OF INTERGENERATIONAL WEALTH Michelle Baltazar

The stakes are high when it comes to providing finan-cial advice to women, particularly as they are predicted to inherit the bulk of the intergenerational wealth transfer in the next few decades; yet at the same time, are hampered by interrupted work patterns, lower pay and earnings potential compared with men.

Alexis George, managing director - insurance at ANZ Global Wealth, shared the key highlights from the 2015 ANZ Women’s Report, ‘Barriers to Achieving Financial Gender Equity’, at the Inspire Community of Practice Breakfast yesterday.

The research and statistics revealed that far too many women fall behind on their savings and retire in poverty - despite the same research showing that women are, on average, just as competent and as educated as men, if not more in many cases.

For example, women earn on average 18.8% less and have $700,000 less than men during their lifetime.

“Gender pay gaps existed in every state and across every industry … we have to address these

things, we have to talk about them,” said George.Worse, the financial inequalities that women face at

different stages of their lives accumulate over time so that come retirement, around 90% will retire without enough savings.

This is quite a horrendous statistic and a sad indictment of the situation in Australia, given our country is ranked among the wealthiest in the world, she said.

That said, women live longer than men and are forecast to benefit from the country’s massive inter-generational wealth transfer.

This year ANZ launched a major initiative address-ing equality and women’s rights. A bold step for the bank, measures introduced included additional co-contribution payments for eligible female staff, a new policy to encourage and recruit more senior female managers within the bank, and a social media campaign, #equalfuture, to highlight the issues fac-ing women.

The dilemma, however, creates a need for good

professional advice to help women make up for the gender-based savings gap. But George said women tackle finance-related issues very differently to men. When they are looking at their finances and invest-ments, they are more focused on ‘consequences’ while men are focused on ‘rewards’. Broadly speaking, men make swift decisions while women prefer to think things through and consult with family and friends.

You have to consider these differences when working with a female client, said George. “The good news is, women’s wealth and their influence are growing so the opportunity to provide advice is there.”

ANZ has also launched a major TV advertising campaign highlighting key stats from the report, with Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Jane Cam-pion directing the ‘film’ called ‘ANZ Smart Girls’.

The social campaign is still running under the hashtag #equalfuture. To date, the hashtag has trended #1 in Australia and reached over 28 million people globally.

Charities boosted by $161,000 AFA Foundation donations Mark Smith

The AFA Foundation has raised over $161,000 in the last financial year for its charity partners.

The AFA’s two roadshows raised around $34,000 each and around $55,000 was raised at the annual conference.

The AFA Foundation was established as a way for the AFA Community to come together and con-tribute to Australians in need. Each year, through its fundraising efforts and dedicated events, the foundation generously supports a range of charities involved with health, wellbeing and other

important community issues.The AFA’s South Australia and Northern Territory

state director, Dave Slovinec, said the foundation is aiming to raise a further $100,000 this year.

“We have charity representatives at this year’s conference helping to sell raffle tickets and raised almost $30,000 in pledges on the first night of this year’s conference alone,” he said.

The foundation’s charity partners are beyon-dblue, MS Research Australia, Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, Save the Children, Make a Wish, the Black Dog Institute, Women’s Housing, Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia and

the Prostate Cancer Foundation.The Prostate Cancer Foundation’s corporate

partnerships and philanthropy manager, Kris Alisch, said the charity had benefitted from its relationship with the AFA over a number of years.

“Given the demographics of the AFA member-ship and their clients, the partnership is a very natural fit.”

The Black Dog Institute’s Fleur Mortimer added: “This is the second year the AFA has supported us and their generous donations have helped us expand our programs. Without their support we wouldn’t be able to do so much of the work we do.”

2015 AFA Conference Cairns 26 October 2015 | Day 26

Sharing knowledgeThe conversation between delegates on social media has for several years now been an important side-story to the main on-stage action at the AFA conference and this year it’s more popular than ever before.

Tweeps from all corners of the advice industry have been sharing speakers’ pithy quotes, giving their views on what’s been said, swapped jokes and posted photographs.

@dollardodonts was particularly prolific, chiming in with choice nuggets of wisdom. Check out his feed for a flavour of the knowledge and performance on show at this year’s conference.

@sharonsnetwork dared to say what we were all thinking: “Anyone else INXS’d out? #AFAau #nomorenewsensation please”.

Some were even practising what industry social media advocates preach, taking the opportunity to market their businesses with details of giveaways, competitions and offers.

@netwealthinvest tweeted throughout the day to remind delegates they could get their hands on an Apple iWatch by taking part in the company’s competition.

The @IOOFEvents team posted a photo of the adorable koala who looked perfectly at ease in the exhibition hall and @ZurichAustralia gave us a glimpse of the future, posting pictures of people enjoying their virtual reality headsets.

@matt_hawkins was drumming up support for the worthwhile work of the AFA

Foundation pointing out that “no one has ever been poor by giving”. Go and buy a raffle ticket. If you’ve already got one, go and buy another one.

What’s encouraging is that amid the tough regulatory environment and ongoing uncertainty, there was a lot of love for the industry on show and kind words of praise for the speakers who were brave enough to share their experiences.

Many took to their smartphones to articulate their admiration for shark attack survivor @PauldeGelder. @markaneil shared the message at the heart of Paul’s story that resonates so strongly with the adviser community – improvise, adapt, overcome. Advisers can be forgiven for feeling like they’re facing a shark attack of their own.

@CitrusDavid also swapped tweets with advisers who took strength from his experience in the face of commission overhaul in the UK.

The Ethics Centre’s Simon Longstaff’s presentation also went down well with @peakechange, @cass_hughes and @pauljkearney who responded positively.

Don’t forget the AFA is running a competition of its own. To be in with a chance to win a customised video package from Doodle just include in your tweets the conference hashtag #AFAau and one of the keywords from this year’s theme: connecting knowledge with performance. Happy tweeting.

TWITTER FEED

Matt Hale @matthaleRTConstant theme coming through....consistently take time out to reflect on your actions and make changes to increase performance #AFAau

Anne Fuchs @Anne_FuchsAdvice community must build up social capital & regain high ground - no single magic bullet to achieve this #AFAau

Peter Graham @dollardosdontsInsurance does not matter until it matters; then it is all that matters. If clients had this knowledge, they might avoid a disaster. #AFAau

Ascent Wealth Mgt @ascentwmIn this life, there’s nothing as constant as change......#afaau #afa_voice @ Cairns Australia

AFA_Voice @AFA_VoiceBusy lunch time in the #AFAau Expo area... Don’t forget to visit the team at the #AFAau & @ybiaustralia stands to update your profile #ybi

Simon Brody @Simon_BrodyWhen you’re Green you Grow, when you’re Ripe you Rot! Keep growing, learning. Connecting knowledge with performance #AFAau

Naomi Christopher @Naomi_MidwinterSocial media is your walking virtual business card - @JennyPearse1 #AFAau #meettheinnovators @AFA_Voice

Sue Viskovic @ElixirCoaches“The goal is not to just understand your clients, it’s helping them understand themselves.” Dr David Lazenby #AFAau

Simon Brody @Simon_BrodyOur masseur is very popular. Come visit for a massage and an ice-cream! #AFAau

Neilson15 @markaneilAwesome session with David Braithwaite.....be careful who you mix with.....always Makers Mark and Diet Coke! #AFAau

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2015 CONFERENCE

Day 2 | Cairns 26 October 2015 2015 AFA Conference 7

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