A tale of 2 markets: What Australian advisers can learn from the US

Benchmarking against international peers sharpens thinking, challenges assumptions and brings back ideas that can lift the whole industry.

For over 20 years, BT has led overseas study tours to do just that – gather insights from a market with more scale and deeper specialisation. With more advisers and greater access to capital, the US offers valuable lessons in where advice models can go and how they can grow.

This year’s study tour took us to New York and Boston, where we met with advice firms and also businesses like Fidelity, Microsoft, and Barron’s – each shaping the future of advice. What follows is a snapshot of the insights we brought home, starting with a question every adviser should be asking.

The inheritance conversation has already started, but are you in it?

In the US, advisers now spend less than 20 per cent of their time on investment selection. They instead focus on reallocating that time strategically to what clients’ value most – goals-based advice, estate planning and behavioural coaching. As families start transferring wealth earlier, advisers who aren’t part of the inheritance conversation risk being left out. This shift isn’t about efficiency, it’s about presence, trust and being there when legacy decisions are made – not after.

Australian advisers are starting to follow suit, but the shift here is slower and less deliberate. Managed accounts have freed up an average 23.9 hours per week across practices, yet that spare time often disappears into admin processes or gets directed to onboarding new clients.

Meanwhile, existing clients are moving ahead – engaging their families, planning their legacies and divesting their wealth earlier. Increasingly, they’re choosing to give their wealth away with warm hands, not cold ones. Advisers who aren’t present during these conversations miss more than just the inheritance – they miss the opportunity to provide valuable advice to their clients who are involved in these important considerations.

Managed accounts are shifting behaviour, but they’re not the strategy. The real opportunity lies in how advisers use the time they’ve gained. Those who are deliberate – acquiring new clients, deepening existing relationships, building trust across generations – are reshaping their value proposition.

In the US, we saw advisers extending their offer into banking, lending and broader life planning. Wealthier clients expect more than portfolio management. Why let them go on dates with other professionals when you could be the one guiding their entire journey?

This evolution isn’t just transforming client relationships, it’s redefining business value. Strategic engagement, scale and repeatability are now the hallmarks of high-performing advice firms – and global investors are paying attention.

The valuation gap isn’t just about size, but strategy

In the US, firms are often valued at 7–12x EBITDA – valuations that signal confidence in scalable, client-led, tech-enabled models, with disciplined pricing and robust reporting. Advisers have built businesses with segmented service offers, underpinned by platforms that support consistent delivery across client cohorts.

Australian firms, by contrast, typically attract valuations of 4–6x EBITDA. The gap isn’t just about market size – it’s about mindset and model maturity. Many firms have grown organically, adapting to shifting regulation and evolving client expectations. The result: outdated systems, inconsistent segmentation and advisers still running an average of 2.3 platforms per practice. Platform consolidation is key to ensuring the client experience runs smoothly, regardless of who’s in the chair.

Closing the gap means shifting from product-led to client-led models. That requires scalable advice frameworks, clear segment strategies, investing in technology and data, and retiring inefficient platforms that no longer serve the business. It also means reducing key-person risk – ensuring operations and client experience run smoothly without relying on individuals.

Advice is a growth industry. With super balances set to more than double over the next decade, every working Australian is on track to hold more wealth in their super than in their home. Advisers haven’t parachuted into this opportunity – they’ve worked hard over many years of challenges and change to build businesses through grit and resilience in one of the most valued sectors in the world.

The future of advice is personal

More people want advice but they want to be understood emotionally as well as financially. In a world of growing complexity and high-stakes decisions, advisers can’t be everything to everyone. But they can be everything to someone.

In the US, advisers are leaning into specialisation – not just by wealth tier, but by mindset, values and life stage. Tools like Lumiant, Money Quotient, and Asset-Map help tailor conversations to emotional and psychological drivers: fear, purpose, confidence, legacy. This approach is resonating deeply with multigenerational households, female clients and values-led investors.

We met advisers who’ve built entire businesses around niche segments – from young professional golfers to divorced women. These advisers understand their clients’ emotional journeys, decision-making processes and life transitions, in addition to their financial needs. They’ve committed to their segment, and in doing so, they’ve become the go-to expert.

Australian advisers are naturally agile – often serving diverse client bases with lean teams. But the next evolution could involve deliberate specialisation. Not just segmenting by wealth but by mindset and life stage. That means asking: if I were a prospective client, what would I see when I Google my business? Do I see people who look like me? A clear value proposition? Something more than “we help people meet their goals”?

Specialisation also means building teams where every adviser is both a generalist and a specialist. Hiring someone like you might double your impact, but someone different to you could multiply it. Advisers who specialise in retirees can bring in younger advisers with strong networks among young professionals. That’s how you build an even greater business – one that serves not just the retiree, but their children, their families and their legacy.

Behavioural advice is gaining traction in Australia, but adoption is still early. The opportunity is to go deeper – building scalable, differentiated offers that resonate with clients’ values, not just their balance sheets. When you understand what drives someone, you’re not just their adviser – you’re their lifelong guide.

One-week, lifelong impact

Gaining insights through stepping outside your business sharpens your thinking and stretches your strategy. The insights – from inheritance conversations to scalable models and behavioural advice – aren’t just ideas; they’re catalysts for transformation.

As Nick Lloyd of ITL Financial Planning put it, “Financial planners are ‘thinking’ partners – we help clients make good decisions and avoid bad ones. BT’s study tour reinforced that clients value holistic, transparent advice – and they’re willing to pay more for it. What stood out most was how deeply US advisers understand their clients, not just financially, but personally. When you know someone’s values and purpose, they rarely leave. That insight has helped me reframe how we engage and deliver advice back home.”

Jason Brown, head of distribution, BT Financial Group