Forum Topics HUB HUB Industry/competitors

Pinned straw:

Added 2 months ago

Looks like lots of corporate activity in the super and wealth funds space. I'm surprised no one here talking about it

I looked at this earlier as part of the payday super changes but picked AEF instead because I thought Christian Super would have more part timers on the books. Anyway how wrong was I!

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Anyway back to this.

Wonder what is the chance of wealth platforms such as HUB or NWL receiving something similar

[held]

PortfolioPlus
Added 2 months ago

Potential legacy issues, yet to surface, keep me leery on the wealth industry.SEQ has demonstrated this.

Also, and it’s just an unproven feeling, the Baby Boomers (of which I am one - Go the BOOMERS) have an aversion for paying upfront for financial advice. We were seduced by the pea and thimble trick with life insurance for so long we thought advice was free. Then we think, ‘I can do this myself’ - and I do have a few mates who have blown up their Super.

SMSF costs me $6k a year, which I regard as statutory BS, particularly the audit statement. Still it does introduce an element of guide wheels and structure. But won’t prevent a free wielding cavalier from investing in Nigerian War Bonds.



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Mujo
Added 2 months ago

I do think most of the listed financial advisory practices are not the best quality but the industry has improved from what I can see with a mass clean out over the last few years. The good ones tend to stay private - most of those don't have legacy issues. They were never conflicted with inhouse product manfacturing.

Centrelink, Aged Care requirements and constantly changing super/pension rules and you see where an advisor adds value. The value is not picking this investment over that investment it is the other stuff.

That said, I think a good bear market is what sees client numbers spike as a lot of mum and dad investors realise they have no idea what they're doing. For sure there are a lot of switched on, smart people that have the time and inclination to stay up to date but overall, its few in numbers and when you get to 70/80 most want to focus on living life and will outsource. It creates issues as most financial advice practice have an old client base and you have to replace clients but with an ageing population the pool is growing whilst at the same time adviser numbers have shrunk due to the clean out.

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Rocketrod
Added 2 months ago

@Mujo , I was in management in a major dealer group before I went to the "dark side" as a financial adviser. While the financial adviser practices were, in the main, very profitable, the same could not be said for the Dealer Group. In my 8 years of management, the Dealer made a profit once...it was only that they also owned a funds management business that was very profitable and that was what sustained the business.

One fun fact about "a good bear market" that I observed in financial planning management....the inverse relationship between client complaints and the direction of the markets.

When the ASX is chugging along in positive territory, client complaints are rare, but when the inevitable market shakeout happens, batten down the hatches!


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Mujo
Added 2 months ago

I think that makes sense, a dealer group/ licensee shouldn't generate excess profit IMHO as a non-revenue/value generating entity - it's a quirk of there being an AFSL that that happens. Accounting, like a Kelly Partners has that all as at one entity. Probably be a trend to a vertically integrated, independent financial licensee is what I'm highlighting - they won't be separate. You do need to keep advisors on board but that's the same with accountants/lawyers/doctors etc and why they aren't the highest quality investments. A key asset can walk out the door.

Yep! a big part of another benefit of a good financial advisor is to educate and not just take credit for good returns but flag during the good times that the market can have large drawdowns. A PT for your finances. Should help slow the complaints - but no one likes losing money.

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Mujo
Added 2 months ago

As I understand it 'private wealth' is the big thing in the US now through consolidation. Financial advisory practices are now trading at above 10X EBITDA on the regular following private equity roll ups.

I could be wrong, but I don't think the Expand platform is what attracted the bid, albeit it would've been a consideration.

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