The Covid-19 crisis has caused some financial advisers into caring more about their clients, says one industry leader.
Melanie Purdey, who has held a string of senior positions in companies such as Westpac, the Medical Assurance Society, and Newpark Group, says while complying with financial industry regulations continue to forge the groundwork of client care – regulation alone is not enough.
“In compliance and regulations there is a duty of care, diligence, and skill,” she says. “And the emphasis here is on care – compliance creates a structure for care – but it doesn’t create care.
“Care is where our profession really adds value, where we actually find that sense in ourselves that we are as concerned about our client’s wellbeing as we are about our own. And that care is built into the value that we offer.”
…compliance creates a structure for
care – but it doesn’t create care…
Purdey says that over the past few weeks – during Alert Levels 4 and 3 – most advisers have stepped up and understood care from their own perspective in a way that some may have not understood before.
“We’re all in the same boat,” she says. “This has been the great equalizer, and I see a lot of those advisers actually administering that care, which is the artistic version of compliance, if you will. It’s the thing the profession is really seeking to move towards.”
Purdey draws a comparison between financial advisers and the medical profession.
“The whole impetus for being in that profession is a true genuine desire to care,” she says. “Doctors have that trust and I think we [in financial services] are going through a similar journey right now.
“And even though this has been an unexpected, sad, and tragic crisis, given the people who have been sick and who have died from Covid-19, it has given us this almost slingshot trajectory into what our future could look like – if care was the most salient aspect of the financial advice profession.”
Purdey says that advice, trumps product.
“If you can build trust because you give careful advice, then what you’re actually representing – the solutions and who they’re from – are probably immaterial,” she says.
“If you can show emotional intelligence – and it’s genuine and authentic – then you will have a point of differentiation over and above those who are just advising. And I think consumers are more aware of that than ever before, because of what we’re going through at the moment.”
Adviser Connect Cooperative
One project Purdey has launched in recent weeks is the Adviser Connect Cooperative; a private Facebook group for financial advisers looking for help and support over and above that offered elsewhere.
She says that even before the pandemic gripped the country, followed by the introduction of the Alert Level 4 lockdown, advisers were dealing with “…a significant and intimidating amount of change”.
…a significant and intimidating amount of change…
“And then we all went into lockdown and had the strain of the Covid crisis, it just added even more uncertainty for advisers,” she says.
“I thought, what can I do to actually support these people through what is a really scary time. They say you love what you do if you’re prepared to do it for free – and I do. So I did.”
Purdey built a hub that has so far attracted almost 100 advisers who learn from each other via chats and webinars. Anyone can ask to join the group.
“Even if one person has benefited from something that we’ve shared or done, or from one of the webinars, then I think we will have been a success. It’s a nice little supportive community.”