Holistic advice trending globally

In an exclusive interview with ifa, US financial planning guru Bill Bachrach said there are some common trends he has witnessed in working with advisers in different global markets.

“The fastest growing segment of the financial services industries around the world, including the US and Australia, is the more advice-based relationships – the industry has been trending away from the old stockbroking mentality to a more client-centric approach, helped by technology and legislation and political posturing,” Mr Bachrach said.

“The key is to think more holistically – so less focus on the actual product or service you think you would like to place the client in and more focus on who the client actually is and what they are trying to achieve.”

Having just completed a tour of Australia, Mr Bachrach – who is the force behind the ‘values-based financial planning’ movement in which advisers should help their clients make “financial choices in alignment with their most important goals and most deeply-held values – said he has noticed a marked increase in optimism in the domestic market.

“You’re definitely seeing an increased level of optimism [among Australian financial advisers] partly due to the fact that the markets are doing a little better and clients are seeking their advice more – which tends to buoy the optimism of everybody a little bit,” he said.

However, Mr Bachrach also said he believes financial advisers should “always be optimistic, as people always need advice, whether the economy is going well or not”.