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We blog here whenever we have something we need to say about our industry.
Expect spike in tech costs next financial year
“Advice firms have also been warned that technology and software costs will rise considerably in the coming financial year, likely to be well above inflation.” Tangelo’s Selin Ertac and Conrad Travers joined Finura’s Peter Worn to discuss tech for advice businesses.
Growth mindset and ignoring the noise
“Ignoring regulatory distractions and focusing on business procedures is key for advice practices to maintain a growth mindset, according to AFSL consultancy Tangelo Advice Consulting” reports Professional Planner. Tangelo’s Selin Ertac and Conrad Travers spoke at the recent SMSF Association National Conference in Brisbane.
Tangelo Talks: What is the Pro Bono Advice Network
We all know that the power of good financial advice.
Tangelo's Conrad Travers spoke with Nicola Beswick of FMD Financial about the Pro-Bono Advice Network which is doing incredible things for Australians in their time of need.
To learn more and get involved visit www.probonoadvice.com
Tax deductibility advice ‘a step in the right direction’
“With an Australian Tax Office (ATO) review underway to make financial advice tax deductible, Tangelo Advice Consulting’s Conrad Travers has reiterated why this would be a positive step forward for the industry.
Though Travers, who had been involved in the ATO’s review and update of TD95/60 along with Deloitte legal practitioner director James Alsop, couldn’t offer explicit details on the review, he said: “We are really hopeful that a good portion of ongoing fees will be tax deductible as a result of that efficacy”. “We feel like this is a really strong step in the right direction, and we're going to keep advocating on your behalf,” he told audience members at the 2023 United Association Roadshow.”
Advice complaints on the decline but ‘getting more complex’: AFCA
Tangelo Advice Consulting’s Conrad Travers was quoted in Money Management’s coverage of discussions at the FAAA’s 2023 United Association Roadshow in May 2023.
“Fellow panellist Conrad Travers, director and principal consultant of Tangelo Consulting, believed it was important in all this to make the actual advice the hero.
He said: “We need to balance out the efficiency you’re going to get with making sure the advice is actually clearly provided to the client. I would recommend new clients, even if they don’t ask for it, give them a simple summary of the advice. “It could be just five pages, [but] make the advice really clear — what are you recommending? Why are you recommending it? What are the next steps for the client?” He agreed with Singh that the client file was just as important as an actual advice document. “You’re probably sick of hearing of compliance about the file notes, but it’s going to become even more important. “Licensees will need to provide guardrails to advisers to explain to them how to get this win while protecting themselves but also treating the client with respect with a nice, simple summary of the advice,” he said. “
Get to the point - clear advice will win out
Tangelo Advice Consulting’s Conrad Travers was quoted in Professional Planner’s coverage of the Quality of Advice Review discussion at the FAAA’s 2023 United Association Roadshow in May 2023.
Tangelo Advice Consulting principal consultant Conrad Travers predicted licensees would adapt and lift the supervision and monitoring frameworks in place to make sure the advice being given is clear. “I would recommend for new clients, even if they don’t ask for it, to give them a simple summary of the advice,” Travers said. “That could be five pages and make the advice really clear – what are you recommending and what are the next steps to the client. Beneath that, cover off the additional scenarios that you might have considered just in summary format, then the risks and the fees. If you do that, that’s best interest.”
‘Game changer’ ATO consultation on advice fees launched
Conrad Travers of Tangelo Advice Consulting has been working with the FPA to campaign for expanding tax deductions for financial advice fees. “We believe there is a strong case under both 8-1 and 25-5 for all financial planning fees to be deductible,” Travers says. “We believe that in our current environment, around 75 per cent of the strategies an adviser recommends have a tax component to them.” Travers says the firm looks forward to a potential win for advisers and their clients.
Structural rethink needed for advice industry
One of the interesting insights to come out of the ‘How to Regulate Advice session at Professional Planner’s Best Practice Forum was ASIC’s assessment that licensees themselves were being too conservative around policy guidance. That is, it was observed that licensees were going far beyond ASIC’s guidance, which in some circumstances had been to the detriment of scaled advice.
Mind the gap: Every Licensee has its compliance shortcomings
Over the past year, one of my clearest take outs from consulting to licensees and practices regarding compliance is that it’s almost never actually about “compliance”
Conrad Travers writes in Professional Planner
Prepare for ASIC to focus on small end of town
Businesses need to plan for the fact that ASIC could come into their business. Explaining something away or saying “I haven’t done that sorry” no longer cuts it when you run a licensee. If they do come in, they are not going to worry about how you feel.