Updates
Dear FPW Adviser Community,
It was great to reconnect with our community at the recent Adviser Days. I particularly enjoyed chatting to our Perth colleagues after the completion of their two-day Lead Adviser Program. To say they were on a high would almost be an understatement.
The two-day Lead Adviser program had been facilitated by John Woodley, Garry Symonds, Denis O’Callaghan (who flew in from Melbourne, thanks Denis), Louise Silver and Terri Reid. As I have mentioned before, we have refreshed the Lead Adviser Program and have introduced new tools and content. We are also introducing new trainers and facilitators, so that it truly becomes a program run by advisers for advisers.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, in particular from the younger participants, who expressed gratitude for the investment the business is making in them. I was speaking to one associate adviser who said he never really appreciated the emotional intelligence side of advice and realised after doing the LA program that he was in the right career and wanted to make a contribution to people’s lives…..now isn’t that nice to hear! Thank you to all the trainers, we really appreciate the commitment you made to making the two days an enriching life experience.
Unfortunately, I only briefly attended Brisbane and missed out on the Sydney Adviser Day, as the dreaded COVID curse struck again. Thank you to all my colleagues who stepped in to cover for me. I’m hoping that you were encouraged and excited by all the amazing work the team have been doing over the last quarter. Not only have we refreshed the Lead Adviser program, but we are also about to launch FitzHQ which we gave you a sneak preview of on the day.
FitzHQ will be live on the 2nd of April. Please look out for the launch email from me with all the instructions on how to log in. FitzHQ will give you access to all the vital information you need to run an efficient, effective and compliant practice. It will keep you up to date on all community events and will enable you to invest in your own learning and development by accessing all the Lead Adviser material and videos. I am hoping that you love it as much as we do.
At Adviser Days, we also announced our 2024 conference which will be hosted in Manly between 15-18 October. I encourage you to register early to secure the early bird rate. We will be working with the National Firm People & Culture Committee on the agenda and will bring you news on this as it develops. The theme of the conference is “A New Wave”, a great theme to explore as we transition to operating as a National Firm.
As we head into the Easter break, I hope you get to recharge those batteries and enjoy the down time with your loved ones….and the chocolate Easter eggs too of course.
Adviser Community Spotlight
Congratulations Will Howard!!
We must give acknowledgement to another young champion in our community, who recently completed his 18th Sydney to Hobart.
Originally from Tasmania, from a sailing family, his mother was also the first female to complete 10 Sydney to Hobarts and pregnant at the time with his brother Richard.
He started racing at the age of 8, racing dinghies on Lake Macquarie, then switched to ocean racing under the guidance of his parents. It is his passion, having the privilege of racing throughout the world, including Europe and the UK, crewing small skiffs to the most sophisticated 52 footers on the international racing circuit.
Worst memory – 2004
We saw snow on the ski fields and with the howling southernly conditions, all the way down the coast through Bass Straight, our food was wet, the crew had hypothermia, our boat was full of water and it was the most gruelling 4 days and 5 hours I’d experienced. It was dangerous and the entire crew had to be on top of their game. At times we were in life threatening situations. We finished the race in 8th position overall.
The fleet comprised of 116 starters, of which only 59 completed the race and 57 yachts retired.
Best memory – 2023
We won our Sydney to Hobart in our Division, up against an internationally strong crew including the all professional “Caro” team comprising of mainly Swiss, Kiwi and Aussie crew who in 2023 also won the Rolex Fastnet Race, the northern hemisphere equivalent of the Sydney-Hobart which attracted a fleet of over 500 yachts. Also in our division and two hours behind us overall were sistership TP52 Celestial who won overall the Sydney – Hobart in 2022.
Lead Adviser
Evolving the Lead Adviser Program – Offering access to all
Over the past nine months, we have devoted considerable resources and time to refreshing the Lead Adviser Program to benefit the entire Fitz community. The Lead Adviser Project has been reviewing the most effective way to deliver the program to support connection, collaboration, and capability building. We have also been looking at ways to make this material accessible for everyone in the community rather than just offering it to Advisers.
As well as facilitating our interactive Lead Adviser workshop, and providing individual coaching support, people now have access to an online learning platform. This means we can support both in-person and online learning for all of us.
Lead Adviser Workshops – New & Improved!
Last month, we hosted a highly successful refreshed Lead Adviser program in Perth. There was a great mix of learning more about the philosophy of Fitzpatricks, sharing experiences with peers, and fostering meaningful connections. The two-day workshop, led by facilitators John Woodley & Terri Reid, engaged both Advisers and Practice support in interactive sessions. Garry Symonds and Denis O’Callaghan provided invaluable expertise in delivering the Lead Adviser frameworks, resulting in exceptional feedback. It was a real showcase of collaboration at its finest and it was a great reminder to us all of the power of bringing together a group of passionate people with a shared focus.
For those based in Sydney, we are pleased to announce that the next Lead Adviser program will take place on 30th April and 1st May. Additionally, we will be bringing the program to Brisbane on August 20th and 21st. You can book your spot via the Events section of FitzHQ when it launches next week.
Lead Adviser Material – Now providing 24/7 Access!
As many of you may have seen at the recent Adviser Days, we have been working behind the scenes to build the Lead Adviser online learning program. On 2nd April we are thrilled to unveil this on FitzHQ. This is a significant milestone for Fitzpatricks as it involves documenting over 20 years of IP.
The website has an enormous amount of material to greatly enhance your Relationship Skills, Technical Advice, and High-Performing Adviser Skills. Whether you’re looking to refresh your knowledge or keen to explore material for the first time, the resources will now be accessible whenever you need them. This platform holds examples of all the tools in your Lead adviser toolkit (or your ‘shed!’) and shows you how to use them in practice. Your Lead Adviser Dashboard on FitzHQ has also been created to help you streamline your learning progress and it allows you to track the areas you’ve completed.
Early feedback has been incredibly positive, and we are very grateful to everyone in the community who has contributed to its development.
Community
Adviser Day Survey
Getting behind our community
One of Barton White ‘s clients, Jenny Kelly is undertaking a significant physical challenge of running 1000km in 58 days and raising money for Bear Cottage.
Jenny has just ~14 days left, she has been running 21km every morning for the last 40 days. Jenny is doing this in memory of her brother who passed away a couple of years ago.
Please visit Jenny’s fundraising site and share in her incredible journey of strength and endurance to rias money for a great cause.
Here is a link to her website.
Calendar of Events
The 2024 Calendar of Events is available on the Adviser Portal enabling you to map out the next 12-month plan for Fitzpatricks community events that include, professional standards webinars, adviser days (March 2024) community gatherings and our Conference.
Community Drinks – Brisbane & Sydney
April Community Drinks will be held in Sydney and Brisbane. Email [email protected] if you would like to join us at the following:
Sydney – Downtown Matteo, April 17th @ 5pm
Brisbane – Ann Street Office, April 18th @ 5pm
Xplan tasks for DBA employees
Visit the Coco DBA “think tank” Teams site for more community support on creating practice efficiencies using DBA.
Virtual Technical Day
Mark in your calendar the Virtual Technical Day for 2024 scheduled for 8 May.
Marketing
2024 National Conference
This month we launched the 2024 National conference. This years ‘A New Wave’ conference will be in Manly, Sydney and it will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the new beginning and provide a perfect backdrop for collaboration and creative thinking. Click here for more information and to register.
Licensee Services
Policy Changes – What’s new and different?
During March we have had a few small changes to our policies as follows:
1. Geared Advice Policy – Reformat to new style and additional requirement to terminate appointment as servicing adviser where client declines to participate in ongoing review.
2. Appointment & Termination of Authorised Representatives Policy – Modified to accommodate adviser registration.
Education Policy – Changes in requirements recognising Grandfathering legislation
The Bill to recognise those experienced financial advisers with a clean disciplinary record for 10 years (between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021) was passed by government in September 2023. This legislation will effectively mean that any financial adviser who qualifies, will not be required to undertake any further education to meet the Professional Standards Education deadline of 1 January 2026.
At the end of February, we engaged the National Firm Board to gauge their views on minimum education standards. Following this discussion we have decided not to impose any additional requirements for education over and above those described in legislation. This means for many, that no further education will be required to continue to operate as an Authorised Representative of Fitzpatricks Private Wealth Pty Ltd.
If you believe you qualify, and are planning to take advantage of this grandfathering opportunity, please reach out to [email protected] before the end of April 2024.
Please be aware that though the National Firm Board did not see the need to insist on the education mandated under the prior legislation, they are committed to furthering the professionalism and education of all representatives. The question of what this means in terms of form and content will be reviewed by the National Firm Board at an appropriate time in the future.
Lessons learned to avoid breaches when dealing with ongoing engagement agreement changes
We all understand that when a client agrees to make changes to their service agreement fees, these need to be implemented as agreed.
The practicalities of implementing this can be complex. Some believe we have up to 30 days after this to act on the client instructions or even that we can continue to receive fees for this period. This is untrue.
Summary
The reality is that our responsibility is to ensure that once we have instructions to terminate or agreement to vary, we must act on this immediately to ensure the fees follow the written instructions as set out in our agreements. This is even more important where fees are controlled by us (direct debit or credit card) as these failures will result in reportable breaches to ASIC. Fees received will need to be refunded with interest where we fail to meet these timeframes.
More Detail
Confusion comes from the breach reporting timeframes afforded to product providers to implement client instructions. We have set out the three most common scenarios which are not only incidents but also civil penalties.
Where we control the fee payments i.e. Direct Debit, Credit Card, Invoice
If the agreement ceases for any reason, the current fee in relation to that agreement must not continue to be charged. Failing to stop the fee immediately results in a breach of Sect 962P of the Corporations Action 2001 which is a civil penalty provision and reportable to ASIC.
For example, if a client emails you today to let you know they no longer wish to continue their arrangement with the adviser, you will need to cease the ongoing adviser fee immediately. If a direct debit is processed, and you have not advised FPW Revenue within 2 business days to stop this payment, this will result in a breach of Sect 962P. We have no choice but to report this civil penalty to ASIC.
Where fees are paid from Platform/Product
If the client wishes to vary their consent, we must ensure the product provider is notified within 10 business days of receipt of the written notification (variation or new service arrangement etc). Their failure to action within 10 business days is a breach of Section 962U of the Corporations Act 2001. This civil penalty provision is currently exempt from being automatically reportable.
If the agreement terminates at any time, for instance:
• client instructs the agreement to cease,
• we fail to issue the EFDS within 60 days,
• we do not receive a signed consent before 120 days following anniversary,
the fee recipient (adviser/Corporate Authorised Representative) must advise the product provider within 10 business days of cessation. The failure to action within 10 business days is a breach of Section 962V of the Corporations Act 2001. This civil penalty is currently exempt from being automatically reportable as a breach.
For example, an adviser completes the service pack which includes the ongoing engagement agreement (renewal) however has decided to no longer charge ongoing adviser fees within the investment platform. The client signs the agreement, and the practice does not notify the platform to allow the platform to meet the 10 day timeframe. This would result in a breach of section 962V for the adviser. This failure would be recorded in our internal incident and breach register and any fees collected from the agreement service period would be refunded to the client.
CPD – Are you ontrack?
As we entre the last quarter for our Annual CPD year, now is a good time to check out which competencies you still have to complete and ensure you have a plan to meet all these before 30 June 2024. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact [email protected].
P.I. Insurance
A reminder that deductions for PI Insurance will commence on the mid month April pay run.
To assist with your cashflow the deductions this year will be spread across 5 mid-month pay runs. Although the final premium is unable to be confirmed at this stage, we will commence with monthly deductions of $1,200 + GST. When the final amount is confirmed, we will split the balance across the remaining periods.
Another Levy – CSLR what does this mean?
By now, you will have been inundated with press articles discussing the CLSR (Compensation Scheme of Last Resort) which starts from 2nd April 2024. The good news is that some 2000 clients will now have a means to recoup some of what they have lost because of financial advice failures in the past. The bad news is that despite lobbying over years from many sources, a share of these costs will be borne by current advisers in the form of a levy. This levy will be determined in a similar fashion to the ASIC levy, i.e. on numbers of relevant providers as at a set date. The cost is estimated to be $100 plus $1186 + GST per adviser and we expect to be invoiced around July-August. We will advise further details when they are available.
NSW Farmers conference at Orange, NSW
Prime Super is a business partner of Fitzpatricks. Its partners include NSW Farmers, the National Farmers’ Federation, the Victorian Farmers’ Federation, WA Farmers, and Agribusiness Australia.
Prime Super invited Fitzpatricks to present at the NSW Farmers conference dinner on 6 March that was attended by 69 farmers from across NSW.
Colin Lewis presented two engaging topics relevant to this demographic; 1) succession planning and 2) the new tax on earnings on superannuation balances greater than $3 million – research has shown that farmers are the hardest hit from the introduction of this tax.
The upshot of attending this event was three-fold:
- First, it was a platform to engage with many potential ideal / aspirational clients – hopefully generating leads, in due course, to many advisers.
- Second, we have now been invited to present at the NSW Farmers annual conference at Rosehill Gardens in July.
- Third, it cemented our relationship with Prime Super.
Technology
Outcomes of the Advice Technology Committee (ATC)
The following items were prioritised after the Advice Technology Committee meeting in February:
File note automation:
File note automation refers to the process of using technology to streamline and simplify the creation of file notes. By implementing file note automation, practices can streamline their processes, improve data accuracy and compliance, enhance collaboration and communication, and ultimately increase productivity and efficiency across the business.
We have looked at a few providers for the automation and integration of file notes with XPLAN. We will be working with the members of the ATC to assess the suitability and make a recommendation in the coming weeks.
Review Meeting Thread:
The Review Meeting Thread in XPlan is used to prepare both the client and the adviser for the review meeting.
We received feedback from the ATC that it would be beneficial for the the task activation dates to be updated for the following tasks:
• Prepare Review Meeting Pack & Review Report
• Finalise Review Meeting Pack
The tasks will now “activate” immediately when the thread is activated. The “due dates” will remain the same.
Wealthsolver Asset Allocation Table:
Coming soon – We have requested the inclusion of the Wealthsolver Asset Allocation table within the Review File note wizard/merged output as requested by the Advice Technology Committee.
Other XPlan updates
Client Active Date
The Client Active Date in XPLAN (under Key Information) was a mandatory field due to ASIC reporting requirements a few years ago. However, with changes that have occurred over time, we have updated our policy to remove this field as a mandatory option.
New fields in XPLAN to capture vulnerable client and AML data
Opex have recently included new options for AML & vulnerable client assessments within the Enter Client Data wizard (Fact Find) and also under the Key information page within the client menu. These new fields are optional and will help facilitate the identification and assessment of vulnerable clients based on predefined risk factors such as age, mental capacity, health issues, financial vulnerability, or susceptibility to undue influence.
New options within the HUB24 Choice Menu
Vanguard has just made their SMA portfolios available on the HUB24 Choice Menu. These options have recently been added to the key HUB24 product’s in XPLAN.
