The opportunity to partner with a specialist service was one avenue for financial advisers looking for philanthropy solutions, however, there was still some hesitation around the referral relationship, a philanthropy executive said yesterday.
"There are barriers we come across, particularly when you look at firms that aren't as wide as banking firms that have entrenched relationships," Perpetual general manger of philanthropy Andrew Thomas told InvestorDaily.
"But there are absolute boundaries as to what the role of the specialist service is in that relationship."
More interest was surfacing from advisers who had acknowledged the need for philanthropy expertise and had realised it might not be worth duplicating within the advice business, Thomas said.
The referral process should be thought of as similar to the relationships advisers had with accountants, as the brief and responsibilities for both parties were clearly defined, he said.
"It's simply about trust and understanding what are the fence posts around the conversations that we can have to support the client," he said.
"It's no different to getting a referral from an accountant where the accountant's already doing all the tax or audit work."
In addition, advisers choosing to address the philanthropic needs of clients must understand philanthropy was different to investments, he said.
"If it's just treated as a product, it won't reach its maximum because those people that are committed do not see themselves involved in a product," he said.
An area of concern is where advisers have asked for approved lists of charitable organisations to recommend to clients, which is inappropriate.
"That's a massive step backwards and it's not understanding philanthropy or customising the solution to the client," Thomas said, adding the Australian Charities and Non-Profit Commission was due to launch as a public portal on 1 October.
"The great concern about that is the level of information that's going to be on there and that people will only [concentrate] on the financial information."
Investor sentiment had been missing in philanthropy since the global financial crisis, but the return of liquidity and market growth would bring back a different dynamic, resulting in substantial growth for the sector in the next 10 years, he said.
