CEO Update

The following policies have been refreshed:
• Complaints
• Incidents & Breaches

Both these policies have been part of the annual refresh and no change of any substance has been made. If you can review them, please take the time to refresh your understanding and let us know if you have any questions.

The Outsourcing Policy was introduced from 1 June 2023 and is a substantial piece of work. Significant changes will impact you as follows:
• New requirement to review your outsource providers annually. This applies to ALL instances of outsource arrangements (including panel providers) and will be subject to audit.
• New requirement to have approval for outsourcing arrangements for all non-panel providers. This approval requires documentation to be evidenced and provided as part of the approval process. The documentation type and detail is determined on a risk basis and can be confusing. Policy deadline for this to be in place is 1st September 2023.

If you have arrangements with non-panel providers for outsource services (including software applications), please do not leave this approval to the last minute. Early approval will ensure you do not suffer business interruptions or disruption.

Reminder: Fees for services associated with Execution Only transaction are limited to a maximum of $500 for each service. Please refer to the Execution Only Policy for more detail.

Following on from our very first Advice Tech Committee in May, the following items have been prioritised and finalised as our next initiatives:

1. Service Agreement Due Date
This new field has been added under the Key Information page, i.e. Service Agreement Due Date. Please note this is an optional field and has been added for ease of recording the date that the Service Agreement is due back (Service Agreement expiry date). This field needs to be manually entered..

2. Online Fact Find
We are currently working with IRESS to implement the online Fact Find within the Xplan Client portal. Once the update is completed the Advice Technology Committee will be assisting us to test this new functionality. Expected release date will be by 1st September 2023.

3. Execution Only Service Wizard
The purpose of this wizard is to assist businesses with efficiencies when instructions are provided by a client for an Execution Only transaction. Expected release date will be by 1st September 2023.

Further to above, we are currently reviewing the interface within the client menu in Xplan to ensure it is more intuitive and streamlined. We are expecting to release the updated interface by 1 September 2023. More details to follow in the next update.

Please feel free to submit any advice technology related ideas you may have by clicking here. These ideas might relate to improvements to existing technology solutions, e.g., XPLAN, or new technologies.

Given the 1st of July is fast approaching, a friendly reminder, for those of you who wish to use the Xplan client portal to share documentation with your clients, please find the link to the Client Portal user guides and videos for advisers/clients.

To improve and maintain our security posture, Fitzpatricks IT regularly scans devices of the practices that we provide IT support to to ensure that there are no vulnerabilities that can be used by bad actors to gain access or compromise your machine.

Most updates can be resolved remotely, but there are some updates that need to be manually performed by Steve Reid. Can you please ensure that you respond to Steve quickly so that we can close out these risks efficiently and quickly for you.

The risk profiling material in the Research section of the Adviser Portal has been refreshed with updated figures and charts. The latest versions of these documents can be found at Risk Profiling.

Similarly, the Features and Benefits Comparisons have also been updated with current performance and asset allocation information as well as other minor updates in the documents. These documents can be found on the Adviser Portal at Features and Benefits Comparisons.

It seems that ESG is being quoted everywhere these days and for some clients ethical, sustainable, responsible investing and ESG considerations for their investments are becoming very important to them. Following on from enhancements we made to the APL, with the incorporation Lonsec’s sustainability ratings (see prior CEO Update dated February 2023), this brief paper provides direction on where you can go to find information on quality investments that match clients’ various preferences in this area of investment.

Looking for an efficient way to share ideas and collaborate with your fellow advisers? Look no further than “COCO”.

This powerful central connection and sharing tool on Teams will transform the way you work, allowing you to easily share information, files and, track progress whilst staying connected with the community.

Say goodbye to scattered emails and missed messages, and hello to a more productive, collaborative work space with COCO. Try it out today and see what comes back!

Thank you to all who joined us for the 10/3/Now sessions with the practice partnerships team in May and June. Your participation was greatly appreciated, and we hope that you found the experience informative and valuable.

We will be in contact mid-late July to support next steps.

With the new financial year just around the corner, we have uploaded the One Page Business Plan.xlsx template to the Adviser Portal to help you start thinking about your own business planning for the upcoming year. In the meantime, have a well earned break through the new year and we will be in touch mid-late July to support your vision for growth in 2023/2024 and beyond.

A total of 40 CPD Hours is required for completion, along with all Topic and Sub-Topics by 30 June 2023. Please be aware that your training plan includes mandatory corporate content and this must also be completed by 30 June as part of your CPD. It is important to note that it is the Adviser’s responsibility to monitor their progress to ensure they complete their required targets.

We understand many of you have kept Fitzpatricks well informed of your activities completed to date, however, to ensure we can support your efforts as well as meet our responsibilities to notify ASIC of changes in your education, we kindly ask you to complete a short survey which will be sent in the coming weeks.

Please register early to ensure you have a placeholder for our upcoming FPW webinars.

After a wonderful journey of nine years with the Fitzpatricks Group, my final day is 30 June 2023. I therefore wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all personal and business success for the future. I feel privileged to have been amongst a community of advisers who have a passion for advice and for the wellbeing of their clients. An advice community that is truly focused on client outcomes to enrich clients’ lives and a community that delivers advice professionally.
Our business is about community and how we work together. To this end, what I will most miss is the day-to-day connection with advisers. I have formed wonderful business relationships and friendships which I will continue to value.

As a final reminder, please refer to “Your Marketing Partner” within the Adviser Portal to see our latest credentials brochures, tools to help you engage with your clients and the Marketing event calendar to help you plan your year. Within this portal you can also order stationery and business cards if you are Fitzpatricks branded.

This is your last opportunity to register for conference. Both the professional conference component and social program promise to be first rate, so please keep your eye out for the conference communications over the next month. Please click here to register.

We ask you to register by the end of July at the latest. If you have any questions, please contact Sandra Wills.

I wish you all a successful new financial year and I look forward to staying in touch.