ifa can exclusively reveal that United Capital, a California-headquartered registered investment adviser (RIA) firm, has been collaborating with AMP on goals-based advice strategies, as Australia’s largest financial advice network tells investors this new approach is vital to its long-term growth plans.
An AMP spokesperson confirmed to ifa that the company has developed a cross-border relationship with United Capital over the past three years ahead of the revamp of its financial advice business.
“We undertook global research, looking for other like-minded companies adopting a similar goals-based approach,” the spokesperson said.
“As part of this process we found United Capital. We have built a strong relationship with United Capital, sharing information and expertise. This continues to be beneficial for AMP and United Capital.”
ifa understands that the relationship is not commercial in nature and that no financial transactions have taken place between the two entities.
United Capital has undergone a similar strategic shift in recent years, investing US$10 million to develop an “industrialised” and “gamified” process for determining client goals and values. ifa witnessed a demonstration of United Capital’s Money Mind tool on the Implemented Portfolios Study Tour in New York in 2015.
The RIA firm, which now has 74 offices across the US, is a leader in the financial life management (FinLife) movement that has sprouted among US independent advice providers as a reaction to the investment-centric approach of the Wall Street financial institutions.
The approach has been adapted in Australia by Treysta Financial Life Management in Sydney, whose executive director Mark Nagle seeks to pioneer a similar movement.
In an interview with ifa in late 2015, Joe Duran, United Capital’s Zimbabwean-born founder and chief executive outlined his vision for the global FinLife movement and how it differs from traditional wealth management.
“For the overwhelming majority of the history of our industry, advisers have believed that their job is to build their clients’ net worth,” Mr Duran said.
“[For financial life managers], our goal is not to maximise net worth but to maximise people’s lives.
“The false assumption of maximising net worth leads to fat wallets and unfulfilled lives. And that’s not something to be necessarily proud of.”
His comments bear similarity to those of AMP chief executive Craig Meller, who told an investor briefing last month that the institution is pivoting from being a financial product manufacturer to a customer-oriented business.
Goal based Vs Values? If the client does not understand their values around money the goal story is just a story “What do you want”? Client “I wanna be rich” right then climb aboard the North solution,,AMP will simply use this to sell more AMP product …No independent financial advice here,move along please.
Arghhhhh! Stop it. STOP IT NOW.
You’re embarrassing the financial planning community by publishing this on so many levels.
As the comments above and those that have been made on previous articles, this ain’t new by any stretch of the imagination.
At a deeper level, these are advisers that are linked to a product provider. Not independent, not independently owned, not independently minded in anyway, shape or form getting publicity on independentfinancialadviser.com.au?
IFA, you do a great job supporting the independent movement and us advisers want to support the awards, but then you publish this, over and over again. Think twice next time…please?
AMP goes to the US and they ignore the 0.05% asset management fees and $1 brokerage costs that are typical of the US investment landscape but instead comes back with this.
Nothing more than a typical funds manager trying to deflect people from seeing the fees there paying or the performance they’ve earned. A few years ago it was Nil Entry Fee products and trips to Hawaii for the number one adviser in the office, take all this away and what’s you’re left with is a falling share price, and now there using the line ”man..don’t focus on the performance or fees, let’s focus on your life goals dude””
Sorry but I’m not going to an adviser to ask their assistance in maximising my life. I want my adviser to maximise my net wealth. My family and I will work on maximising my life. I know what I want to do with my life and how much that costs. Adviser please give me strategies to have the money to accomplish them.
Fair enough Stu. Most Advisers would not even presume to talk to you about “maximizing your life” but for some clients, having a good plan enables just that. “Goals based” is just an approach. Personally I don’t think the framing is all that useful, it’s a bit too Deepak Chopra for me. I’d rather talk about your budget which will determine (more than most things) your financial position.
Are they kidding? Trying to tout this as some sort of revolutionary movement???
This is what good financial advisers have been doing for ages. The first thing competent advisers do in an initial meeting is ask what a client wants to achieve (their goals) then work on how to actually get them there. This has been the case for years, anyone not doing this has been flogging product, plain and simple.