Urging planners to act as risk managers and not performance managers, Tim pointed out the unknown risks in chasing returns and that good planners will just seek to find the right inputs and give their clients the best probable outcomes.
Tim went on to discuss various asset classes that could be considered for inclusion in clients' portfolios.
Malcolm then gave an interesting personal insight into where the financial advice markets are heading. This included a view that banks would exit financial advice apart from at the very top level of the private banks and questioned whether direct salesforces would return. He also predicted a tough future for IFAs who do not embrace Financial Planning.
On independent v restricted, he felt restricted would be fine for most advisers for existing clients but problematic for acquiring new clients and obtaining referrals from professional connections.
The historic sales model of selling financial advisory businesses for a multiple over recurring income might no longer be viable. Instead, advice firms would have to create models whereby clients continued to be serviced with new generations of advisers coming into the same firm.