Financial Planner Wants Advice

Hi Scott,

Am I in the wrong job? I am a financial planner. No, seriously please keep reading :) I got into the industry after being retrenched, as I was looking for something that would pay better than an admin job. I do my best to provide advice that is free from bias and not tied to products. Trouble is, sooner or later my boss is bound to notice and move me on. How do I help Aussies with their finances and still put food on my table?

Tim

Hi Tim,

The old saying ‘don’t hate the player, hate the game’ is true in financial services.

The Royal Commission is great, but unfortunately it tends to tar everyone with the same brush. The overwhelming majority of financial planners and mortgage brokers are good, hard-working, ethical people like you.

It’s the game that sucks. It’s been set up by the banks and AMP. It’s called ‘vertical integration’, and it’s basically where the banks manufacture products and then employ planners to sell them. If you’re working in a Holden dealership, you won’t be selling Fords.  Hopefully a recommendation from the Royal Commission will be to break up the vertical integration game. Yet what advice would I give you right now? Well, there are truly independent firms that charge hourly rates. Or there are financial counsellors, who do important work without flogging products.

Scott