The managing partner of Harrison Spence said: “Despite the desperate need for greater efficiency, almost two-thirds of IFAs are still trying to continue to work with the same clients they always have, despite the challenges and increased costs.”
Mr Spence said that advisers can no longer afford to treat all clients as equal, and that they need to identify where extra value can be found by forming a comprehensive overview of their client base to capture a range of efficiencies.
He said: “The key is to ensure that each client gets exactly what they are paying for and eradicate over-servicing. Simply singling out the sources of the highest recurring income is not sufficient; recurring income must then be inextricably linked to the level of service each client receives.”
This, he said, will take the guesswork out of an adviser’s growth strategy.
ADVISER VIEW
Mark Hibbit, director of South Gloucestershire-based Sovereign Independent Financial Advisers, said: “There are several firms going through segmentation in the aftermath of RDR who have said they have formally disengaged with clients at the lower end. From our perspective we want to maintain our client bank, but find different ways to work with them. Tech-nology can play a part and paying transactionally is also an option, but I would broadly agree that most advisers are not actively looking for low-end clients post-RDR.”
