DeVere has seen enquiries from new clients leap 24 per cent in April from the previous month – something that CEO Nigel Green pins on the “disruption and dislocation” of COVID-19.
“This has had a very real and very immediate impact on the finances of individuals, households and businesses around the world,” Mr Green said.
“Suddenly, unexpectedly, many have realised that they didn’t have sufficient money behind them, they didn’t have contingency plans.”
“This, as they know, could have consequences for the lifestyles and life opportunities of themselves and loved ones and, for those in business, for the long-term sustainability of their firm.”
Mr Green said deVere saw a similar effect after the 2008 financial crash despite confidence in financial institutions – particularly traditional banks – being at a record low.
“This most unusual situation has dramatically underscored that no one really knows what is around the corner,” Mr Green said.
“Now more than ever people are seeking to be as financially prepared as they can for any eventuality.”
COVID-19 is also reshaping how people want their advice delivered. A poll by deVere among existing and prospective clients showed that the majority – 52 per cent – still preferred face-to-face advice, while 42 per cent said they preferred video conferencing and 6 per cent preferred telephone.
“Given the circumstances and how much things have changed, I quite was surprised that the preferred option for the delivery of financial advice remains face-to-face,” Mr Green said.
“But video communication is only 10 per cent behind, which is quite something as it is a new platform for most people. The survey underscores that increasingly people want bespoke financial advice combined with innovative technology.”
The same poll showed that 72 per cent of client respondents felt the world had “changed permanently”, while 80 per cent said that new companies would emerge from the crisis and that companies that were successful in the past were not guaranteed to succeed again.
“2020 has been a year of change,” Mr Green said. “For an increasing number, this includes a change in the way we prioritise, with long-term financial security for ourselves and our loved ones ever-more important.”
This is a joke right? People might think they want more advice now, but can they afford it? Hahaha no…
I thought this article must be missing some context.
So I Googled DeVere not knowing who or what they were, and find they one of the worlds ‘leading independent advice firms’. I thought that’s odd, why haven’t I ever heard of them. Perplexed, I thought i’d peruse their Australian website, expecting some industry icon whom I never realised was with DeVere. Even stranger how there is almost no content on their Australian site?
With a reported 10b across 80,000 clients and 45 offices the impressive part is some scale from pulling together an international group of “independents”. However that’s an average of $222m per office, 1,777 clients and $125,000 per client.
Do these numbers put them in any upper echelon of advisory firms? Not to my knowledge on a per office basis.
So what am I missing? Yes this article needs some context. What makes this voice representative of the industry? Did the journalists seek them out or did they simply absorb a press release and start quoting? I wanted to review their survey data and look for any more insights, however I couldn’t find it. How do we know the reported numbers are representative unless we have some information on their sample set? Some context into where, when the comments were said. Without this it makes me question the validity of anything stated.
Both ifa and Money Management regularly regurgitate these inane press releases from DeVere. I suspect DeVere has a marketing manager with a large expense account, who knows what really makes the media tick.