Will you outsource more back-office work in 2020?
- No (49%)
- Yes (39%)
- Not sure (11%)
Loading ...Our latest poll is seeking your feedback on whether you’re considering a change to your back-office set-up this year to accommodate the ‘tsunami of change’ about to impact the advice sector.
As we’ve mentioned previously, some of the changes advisers may experience in this year and beyond include:
- The commencement of transitional licensing for financial advice providers
- Implementation of the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (FSLAA)
- Implementation of the Code of Professional Conduct for advisers
- New minimum education standards
- Updated disclosure requirements
With ever-more complex regulations and stronger enforcement of rules in the pipeline (see: FMA Reinforces its Case for More Regulations), the options to hand some of the fine-detail work to a growing number of third-party specialist firms can be tempting. These firms variously include platform operators such as The Adviser Platform (see: Uncertain Times…), education and compliance specialists such as Strategi and Professional IQ College and evolving dealer groups such as Newpark (Newpark to Launch Adviser Support Service) and Kepa (Kepa Expands Adviser Service Offer).
The upside of using these services is that advisers can get to see more clients and spend more time with their existing ones – knowing all the back-office documentation, compliance, audits and reminders are being processed.
The downside is that there is a financial cost for this extra freedom. While plenty of advisers see this as ‘no-brainer’, others may prefer to spend their time dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s themselves in order to achieve the right balance between business expense management options and practice profitability.
Tell us what you think and we’ll report back next week…