Firing lineSep 18 2020

Quilter is on a mission to improve access to advice

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Quilter is on a mission to improve access to advice

However, Sarah Waring, client and proposition director of Quilter’s national advice business, warns the industry faces a recruitment crisis, with the number of advisers leaving the industry far outpacing the number of advisers who are entering it. She adds that, over the short term the need and demand for advice is likely to keep rising.

Ms Waring says: “Some of the scarier predictions state that 10 per cent of the current crop of advisers could be leaving the profession each year over the next three to four years, amounting to a loss of over 7,000 advisers.” 

As we progress out of the pandemic it would be foolish to simply return to the norm and fail to capture some of the positives that have come from this experience

As a result, she says the financial advice community needs to think carefully about ways it can attract more talent into the industry to help plug the hole.

And this is at a time when, like many other companies, Quilter Financial Planning – which came top in FTAdviser’s Top 100 Financial Advisers last year – will be assessing its response to the Covid-19 crisis.

While recruiting more people into the industry is going to be the best solution to increasing adviser numbers, Ms Waring says she strongly believes the industry must also look to technology to help those advisers still in the industry cope with the increase in demand. 

She adds: “Technology will therefore need to help improve advisers’ efficiency. Some obvious areas where technology could help is to do with the delivery of ongoing service requirements and the implementation of advice recommendations. 

“Ultimately, we may get to a point where the tech is sophisticated enough to do an initial fact-find and produce a first recommendation, which in turn gives advisers more time to focus on life coaching and the aspects of financial advice, which will never be able to be replicated by a machine.”

Saying that, she adds that improvements in tech will place additional pressure on advisers to exhibit the personal value that they bring to each client. 

Clients will come to expect more personalisation, as they may feel that generic algorithms may satiate their needs, unless the bespoke service from an adviser truly gives them that personal service they are after. This will put an additional spotlight on the value of advice and, in turn, the fees charged.

Ms Waring says: “The financial advice profession will adapt to any changes as it has shown it can do time and time again. However, it is likely that it will be more focused on the planning aspect as this will be where advisers can fully showcase their value.”

The coronavirus crisis has not only affected the markets and consumer confidence, but it has also impacted the way people work.

At Quilter, 98 per cent of employees are now working from home – a huge shift from the way they worked pre-pandemic. 

Ms Waring says everyone’s experience of this change has been different, with some finding it very challenging and others enjoying the additional flexibility and time that comes from not having to commute. 

She adds: “As we progress out of the pandemic and some semblance of normality returns it would be foolish to simply return to the norm and fail to capture some of the positives that have come from this experience.”

Quilter’s advisers have also had to drastically change the way they advise their clients, with most moving to remote advice. 

Although there were some teething problems – perhaps not surprising with such a large-scale change – a survey of advisers in Quilter’s national advice business found that 88 per cent of advisers would want to continue to provide some form of remote advice option, as the nation comes out of lockdown.

Ms Waring says: “Many advisers will jump at the chance to see their clients face-to-face again but are likely to choose a hybrid approach as for many the opportunity to do a proportion of client meetings over video frees up more time to take on additional clients or simply provides a better work/life balance.

“Across the wider advice sector, despite the inability to see clients face-to-face, both the value of advice and the demand for it has skyrocketed.”

Transformation already underway

Although, like many other businesses, Quilter had to make some big changes during the pandemic, prior to this it was already undergoing a transformation.

Last summer, the business acquired Lighthouse and was also just starting its new life as Quilter Financial Planning, following the rebrand from Intrinsic. 

Ms Waring says: “Over the following months before the spotlight was really shining on the impacts of coronavirus, we completed the rebrand of the Charles Derby business to form Quilter Financial Advisers, which also includes Lighthouse Financial Advice and Lighthouse Mortgage and Protection Solutions.”

Over the past 12 months Quilter has also introduced a telephone-based advice service so savers who cannot take up face-to-face meetings can still get access to advice. 

“This change is all part of our mission to improve access to financial advice,” Ms Waring adds.

“As part of this mission, we also made a number of changes to the Quilter Financial Adviser School to help more people move into the profession.”

This included the creation of a fast-track course, which enabled selected students to obtain their diploma over an intensive three month period, opposed to the standard part-time programme that takes 47 weeks.

Another big change in the business is that, in June, Steve Gazard was promoted to chief executive of Quilter Financial Planning.

Ms Waring says the focus over the next few months is to continue to integrate Lighthouse and Charles Derby Group as well as to ensure Quilter Financial Planning is continuing to evolve to suit the needs of its customers and advisers. 

Ima Jackson-Obot is deputy features editor of Financial Adviser and FTAdviser