A mid-tier licensee who was not sure where to start received a simplified compliance approach, 40% improved paraplanning turnaround and an uptick in adviser engagement

The challenge

A great mid-tier licensee with around 80 advisers was struggling. Their compliance manual was out of date and full of legal jargon so no one was reading it. Advisers were confused about Best Interest requirements, and paraplanning turnaround times had blown out to 25 days, frustrating advisers and creating customer service issues.

What we did

Firstly, we broke up their compliance manual into simplified sections. Each sections included a standard, with tools and resources to help bring the information to life and improve accessibility. The first priority was a simple, principle-based guide to Best Interest, complimented by a range of tools and training materials to help advisers understand what they needed to keep on file to help them demonstrate best interest.

Next, we conducted a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for our client to outsource paraplanning. We conducted a competitive process to select the provider and managed the transition

As our client saw and felt the results of our work, they wanted to do more. We then worked to re-write all their policies, helping them to challenge and update their existing policy positions. We managed all aspect of the change, and ensured that the new policies were properly embedded into the business.

Finally, we supported them to re-organise their head office team and assisted with training of licensee staff. The changes we implemented were designed to support the licensee and their team sustain the operations long after our involvement had ended.

The outcome

We received fantastic feedback from advisers on the easy-to-read policies, training and support materials which resulted in considerable improvement in audit results and the overall confidence and engagement of advisers. Paraplanning turnaround reduced from 25 to 15 days while maintaining strong quality assurance in-house. The licensee requested ongoing support from us to address other opportunities in the business, as they felt we were already a part of their team.