Finalists teach a thing or two about financial planning
Meet the five finalists in the 1999 Financial Planner of the Year Awards.
Tuesday, October 12th 1999, 12:00AM
Winner
Rodger Spiller
Money Matters, Auckland
Rodger Spiller emerged as the clear winner in this year's Financial Planner of the Year Awards, according to the judges.
One of those judges, Retirement Commissioner Colin Blair, says Spiller put forward a comprehensive plan that was well supported by a very satisfied client. The judges also felt Spiller demonstrated a high level of knowledge about investment issues and helped spread that knowledge through teaching and seminars.
Spiller, who owns Money Matters, says his approach to financial planning is strategy, rather than product-based. That is each plan is a customised strategy designed to help the client reliably achieve their goals.
He says the product approach taken by many planners is "doomed to fail".
In many ways a financial planner is like a financial doctor, he says.
"Clients view me as their financial doctor looking after their financial wealth and health. This requires expert diagnosis, prescription and on-going monitoring."
He says a first meeting with a client is like a financial check up, where he determines their financial health and discovers what their goals are and how they can be achieved.
After that there is a focus on change. Because the client's situation changes, as does the economic, investment and legislative environment, the plan has to be monitored to ensure it is the best strategy to meet the client's lifestyle and financial goals.
From Spiller's perspective monitoring is more than just providing clients with regular reports telling them how their investments have performed.
Prior to establishing Money Matters in 1993 Spiller was the executive director of managed fund research house IPAC Securities.
He decided to leave IPAC after the firm sold its one-third stake in planning firm IPD and made a strategic decision not to be involved in financial planning.
Spiller considers the move a natural progression. Although IPAC provides advice to planners the "pinnacle" of the process is the relationship between the adviser and the client.
Besides practising planning Spiller is a part-time lecturer in the subject at Auckland University's Centre for Continuing Education (previously he taught at Manakau Technical Institute and Auckland Technical Institute). He is also a founder of the New Zealand Businesses for Social Responsibility, a director of the New Zealand Centre for Business Ethics and is involved in a number of other projects.
Finalists
Simon Hassan
Stewart, Hassan and Associates, Auckland
Simon Hassan likens being a financial planner to his previous job as a teacher. Both professions, he says, are about selling and communication.
Although Hassan found teaching a fulfilling career he gave it up nine years ago, after moving from Invercargill to Auckland, as it didn't pay enough to support his large family.
"I had never heard of financial planning then, but there was no doubt in my mind that whatever I did next it would be done professionally."
He was attracted to planning as he felt with his skills in communications, maths and computers he could help people save for their retirement
His route to financial planning was firstly through a job with Prudential as an adviser. Now Hassan and his wife Rosemary work in a partnership with former IAFP chairman Barry Stewart in Greenlane.
"We do take comprehensive financial planning as a default position with our clients unless they ask us," he says.
People in the industry often comment that comprehensive financial planning isn't a widely offered service as it's not profitable. Hassan agrees with this point and notes his firm has been able to embrace the concept as it has an established client base.
In the future advisers starting off and wanting to go down this route will have to be employed within a firm on a retainer-type basis. Even under such a scenario the remuneration won't be high for the first few years until a client base is established.
Peter Hensley
The Money People, New Plymouth
Peter Hensley, like Rodger Spiller and Simon Hassan comes from a teaching background. He says it's no surprise teachers end up in the financial planning business as a lot of the job is about educating the client.
Hensley takes that a step further than most by running seminars for corporates and penning investment books. So far he has written two 'entry level' books, Investment Choices in New Zealand and Financial Success.
He says the education system has let New Zealanders down as they are ignorant about financial issues. This, he says, impacts on peoples' lifestyle and their ability to get ahead.
While his philosophy is built around comprehensive financial planning and its principles, most of his work is in providing investment advice.
Hensley is part of the AdvisorGroup network and uses the Private Portfolio Service master trust.
He says advisers need to keep true to the process of financial planning, as it is the process that helps the clients.
"We may share the rewards, however we must remember that we are just the facilitators," he says.
Tony Mount
Independent Financial Consultants, Nelson
Tony Mount set up his own financial consultancy in Nelson 12 years ago, after working in financial services in the UK, USA and New Zealand. He has a Batchelor's degree in Economics and was one of the early members of the IAFP.
"The type of clients we get is very similar to Tauranga: a lot of older people and then the affluent 40 pluses," Mount says. "We chose Nelson on purpose because we can beaver away and do things a bit differently."
A prime example of that is client contracts, which Mount says his firm was the first to offer. Currently more than $40 million of client funds are under these performance-based contracts, which are for three or five year terms with quarterly reviews.
Mount operates an in-house investment management system and says over 60 per cent of client funds are now held directly. "There's been a change over the past four or five years away from managed funds. The main driver, initially anyway, was the cost structure and also the quality of management."
John Neas, CFP
Tower Financial Advisory Services, Wellington
John Neas came to financial planning six years ago after a career in accounting and finance including Trade Commissioner in Suva and LA, Treasurer for the Government of Niue and Corporate Treasurer for GCS Limited. He started at Tower as an adviser primarily selling Tower products, but has now developed his own financial planning practice.
Neas, 54, says most of his clients have large lump sums to invest and are generally in the over 50s age group. He lists his strengths as honesty, integrity, an ability to listen, attention to detail "and a good understanding of what financial planning is all about".
"I market myself as being someone who's very well qualified with accounting, economics and CFP qualifications, and the fact that I've been successful as a financial planner is directly as a result of that."
His many qualifications include a B Comm with majors in accounting and economics, CA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Certified Financial Planner licensed by the FPIA. Neas made the "Top Twenty" for Tower Financial Advisory Services for 1995, '96,' 97 and '98.
| « Property news | King builds an empire » |
Special Offers
Commenting is closed
|
|
Printable version |
|
Email to a friend |
