The Financial Services Council’s Future Ready 2023 advice summits attracted more than 550 advisers across three events held in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
The Auckland show included a political session with Dr Duncan Webb, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and Andrew Bayly, MP for Port Waikato and National Party spokesman for commerce and consumer affairs.
The event also included “a conversation with the regulator” where members of the FMA provided advisers with an overview of life after licensing.
The day also saw a panel looking at how to get your business future ready. On stage were Don Trapnell and Josie Vella from Australian firm Synchron, Royden Shotter of Planolitix, Anna Schubert of AIA, and Melanie Purdey from Compliance Refinery.
The Synchron team outlined the workings of its NextGen programme, which aims to attract younger advisers to the industry. The team says its bootcamps have helped them become a licensee of choice for younger advisers and over time the average age of their advisers has gone down by more than 10 years.
Another panel – Learning from the Industry’s Young Trailblazers – offered insights into how the new generation of advisers is building their businesses, working with tech to deliver and build a client base.
Asked about the technology members of the panel are using, attendees heard that while it was hard to go past a personal phone call, embracing technology, and social media, where an adviser can add value and elevate their own brand, along with automated marketing was also key.
The day included two sessions where attendees could choose from several workshops to discuss topics such as growing financial literacy for Māori; increasing value for clients; cyber security; governance issues, and starting an advice business from scratch.