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When good people make bad decisions
Recent misconduct cases, including Shield and First Guardian, have once again brought attention to challenges within the financial advice profession. Whether it's inappropriate sales tactics, inadequate due diligence, misrepresentations to clients or more serious breaches of trust, these cases taint the reputation of so…
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What's the incentive to become an adviser?
At Striver, we talk to new entrants to the profession every day. How do we go about making financial planning a compelling career proposition? In this video, I explain how we do it.
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Uncovering a blind spot with just three questions
I like to think of myself as "considered" rather than stubborn (although my husband might tell you it’s the same thing). Give me a new idea, and I’ll mull it over before I’m ready to change my mind. Two years ago, our business coach asked me a question that made me squirm: “What does it cost the business – in time, money,…
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Why I strongly suggest you take on a PY adviser
When I first became an adviser, I was young, naive, overconfident and generally had no idea what I was doing. I’d spent many years as a senior paraplanner at a large practice with advisers specialising in all areas. And during those years, I’d developed enough knowledge that I figured, “Well, if they can do it, why can’t…
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When the engine stalls
My career began in the back office, which seems to be the norm when progressing through the ranks of a financial planning firm. The years I spent in this role gave me a good guide on how things should be done – from the ground up. The back office is called the engine room for a good reason; without it, we would stall. I…
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Reclaim capacity without blowing everything up
Somewhere between onboarding your last hire and rewriting your third process doc, your People Plan lost steam. Or maybe it never really had any. It’s not that your team isn’t good – they are. It’s just that right now, everything feels a bit too reactive. Advice is still going out the door, but not without a few too many…
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Reclaim capacity without blowing everything up
Somewhere between onboarding your last hire and rewriting your third process doc, your People Plan lost steam. Or maybe it never really had any. It’s not that your team isn’t good – they are. It’s just that right now, everything feels a bit too reactive. Advice is still going out the door, but not without a few too many…
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The motivation to sell
If you’re considering buying an advisory practice, it’s important to gain an insight into why the seller is interested in selling. To gain any such understanding, we will provide the buyer with useful pointers as to how they should proceed and how any potential transaction could be structured. A mutually beneficial, “fair…
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Follow your own path
With 2025 now upon us, I’m sure your inbox, LinkedIn account and service provider communications are all dominated by reflections on last year and suggestions on how you should shape your 2025. While others’ views can be useful for context, it’s entirely possible that they’re not relevant to your current business position,…
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Why you need your culture on a page
The Australian advice landscape has undergone significant consolidation in recent years – and given the rising cost of providing financial advice, we can expect even more opportunities for merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. This M&A activity sometimes occurs among licensees or advice practices; in other cases, private…
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Winning the talent game
Asking practices to share their people plan with us often results in blank stares, nervous laughter or a quick subject change. Is it because the term "people plan" sounds too corporate for smaller teams? Too warm and fuzzy, without enough action and results? Or maybe it just sounds like another document that’ll get written…
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Winning the talent game
Asking practices to share their people plan with us often results in blank stares, nervous laughter or a quick subject change. Is it because the term "people plan" sounds too corporate for smaller teams? Too warm and fuzzy, without enough action and results? Or maybe it just sounds like another document that’ll get written…
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Growing your PY adviser
Nurturing young talent is crucial for the growth and sustainability of our profession. Having worked in this field for 32 years and hired numerous team members, I've found that guiding new advisers through the professional year (PY) is key to our success and growth as a business. But how do you keep them motivated…
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Culture shock
The latest Hays Salary Guide (24/25) paints a fascinating (and slightly alarming) picture of employee retention trends. Of the 15,000 responses across 26 industries, a whopping 77% of Australian employees are either actively looking or planning to look for a new job within the next 12 months. Wow! That’s 3 out of every 4…
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Build an EVP where people come first
The secret to any successful business is people, as even the best strategies and technologies will fall short without the right team. Having a strong employee value proposition (EVP) is essential to attracting and retaining the right talent, and creating a thriving workplace where people feel valued and motivated to help…
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Free tool: Career conversation guide
Career conversations are essential in guiding individuals toward their goals and helping them achieve personal and professional growth within your practice. Developed by Striver, this conversation guide provides a step-by-step guide on the questions you could ask an employee in their first six months and a formal career…
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Wake up call
Do we have to get up at 5 a.m. to be productive? It might work for the tech bros, but what about in the real world, like financial services, where 91% of people consistently work longer than their contracted hours and 60-80 hour weeks have become normalised? It’s time for a wake-up call. Organisational psychologist Dr…
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The other side of succession
While the new entrant challenge and advisers' business transition concerns may seem like separate issues, they're actually closely related – and solving one invariably requires addressing the other.
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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…
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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…
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Listen now to the Upfront podcast
If you’re in the financial services industry, listen up. Bold, frank, honest and totally unlike any other financial services podcast, Upfront is here to tackle the industry’s challenges and help build financial advice businesses people truly love (yes, we said love). Listen here or get Upfront on your favourite podcast app…
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Can you be a professional without an office?
For a business that was always focused on clients coming to you and presenting a professional office environment, it was quite a turning point when COVID hit in March 2020 and our entire team of 12 began working remotely from home. Of course, we had no option at that point – being based in metropolitan Melbourne and not an…
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Can you be a professional without an office?
For a business that was always focused on clients coming to you and presenting a professional office environment, it was quite a turning point when COVID hit in March 2020 and our entire team of 12 began working remotely from home. Of course, we had no option at that point – being based in metropolitan Melbourne and not an…
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Micromanagement is out – trust is in
There are few things in life I would claim to be an expert on. (Remembering numbers, a great chicken soup, reverse parking, Bananagrams.) But as the co-founder of a business that has been 100% remote since its inception in 2013, I do know a thing or two about flexible working and how to build it into a successful business…
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Micromanagement is out – trust is in
There are few things in life I would claim to be an expert on. (Remembering numbers, a great chicken soup, reverse parking, Bananagrams.) But as the co-founder of a business that has been 100% remote since its inception in 2013, I do know a thing or two about flexible working and how to build it into a successful business…
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Hard to find
Financial advice businesses that have staff incentive programs are 63% more profitable. Unlock the secrets to boosting your team's performance and profitability with our free guide. Click below to download the report now.
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Hard to find
Financial advice businesses that have staff incentive programs are 63% more profitable. Unlock the secrets to boosting your team's performance and profitability with our free guide. Click below to download the report now.
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Everything counts (in large amounts)
Per an ASX announcement on Monday, Clime has entered an agreement to sell Madison Financial Group (and the WealthPortal platform) for $2 million. Madison's adviser network collectively represented around $3.5 billion in funds under advice as of March 2024; the buyer, Infocus, will boost its FUA to over $16 billion once the…
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Navigating the outsourcing landscape
In an industry marked by regulatory pressures and the soaring costs of advisory services, many advisers (myself included) have turned to outsourcing to streamline operations and reduce costs. Whether it's paraplanning, administration, marketing, or leveraging fintech solutions, the outsourcing trend has become increasingly…
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What is an adviser’s true capacity?
A wise man once told me that the problem with the world today is that there is too much emotion and not enough data. Operating an advice practice always has, and always will be, a numbers game. Put more clients in the funnel to convert more new clients. Get clear on your cost to serve to build out your advice fees. And…