The federal government’s planned Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms could mean more clients for practices that are prepared, the managing director of an independently-owned dealer group has said.
“With so much reforming, one thing we might see is a lot more people thinking about their superannuation and investment situation,” Dixon Advisory and Superannuation Services managing director Alan Dixon said.
“It might actually be a good time for businesses who are completely FOFA-ready and who have a good proposition to pick up a few new clients.”
In late April, Financial Services and Superannuation Minister Bill Shorten unveiled the changes, which revolve around making remuneration more transparent and banning advice-related commissions.
Dixon said the government’s reform package might need advertising and marketing support because many people outside the advice industry were unaware of the changes.
“If you ask the average person down at the local coffee shop how much they know about FOFA, they’d just look at you blankly,” he said.
Asked whether the reforms would change Dixon’s growth strategy, he said no.
“We still hope to get quite a bit bigger over time. We hope to do that by advertising and providing a good mix of service,” he said.
“There are a lot of really good planners who are [older] and who have not set themselves up with a strong succession plan.
“We think there remains a possibility that there’ll continue to be a lot of opportunity for groups that have a clear, client-friendly strategy.”
Dixon’s father, Daryl, founded the business in 1986. He is executive chairman of the independently-owned practice, which has about 60 advisers and $4 billion under advice.
