Alex Morley has big plans for Sanlam Wealth Planning, and is optimistic that its ethos of “decency” and not being for sale will solidify its future. The chief executive, who took over from Nigel Speirs as part of the February 2014 shake-up, is keen for his tenure to be associated with focusing on consumer needs, which was something he said had eluded the majority of financial advisers.
One of the many differences between Sanlam Wealth Planning and other financial advice services, he added, was the “rigorous and sensible” processes put in place to ensure that a “lucky pin” is not used to find suitable products. Although not done purposely, Mr Morley said a lot of well-meaning advisers in the past had tried too hard to over-deliver, and in the process had recommended some “dreadful” solutions.
Following his appointment, one of the first things the former English Mutual chief executive pledged to do was significantly increase the firm’s adviser numbers to between 250 and 300 by 2017. In retrospect, however, he said that attracting the right type of people had developed into the biggest challenge of his new role, owing to there not being enough advisers out there to match his high expectations.
He added: “We are based in Bristol, which is a financial services hub, but finding the right people is tough. We currently have about 100 advisers and are looking to take on more, but we turn down more advisers than we take on. The main things we are looking for is decency and client centricity. For us, a good adviser is not someone who writes £300,000 a year. All we have as an organisation is our clients, and we do not view them purely as an income opportunity.”
Because of these recruitment difficulties, Mr Morley said it was important not to set concrete targets, if that meant later having to compromise the type of candidate hired. But while some financial advisers have complained about not wanting to employ younger people with little life experience, for Sanlam Wealth Planning the hiring of youth represents more of a benefit than a drawback.
With the average age of financial advisers reaching the mid-50s, Mr Morley said a massive issue in the profession right now was the trend of advisers retiring before their clients. Leaving a client in such a period of financial importance had caused a lot of “discomfort”, he claimed, which is why clients of Sanlam Wealth Planning were more than happy to deal with advisers of a younger age.
In fact, despite suspending its graduate scheme earlier in the year to focus on the merger with English Mutual, Mr Morley claimed that the same scheme will be relaunched in the middle of 2015. He said it was paramount for Sanlam to develop the next generation of advisers, given that networks and firms up for sale would not be interested.
Despite previously being an IFA and the proud director of a one-man band, the latest happenings in the profession mean that Mr Morley now fears the worst for this breed of adviser. He predicted that most of them would switch to a network or at least be stripped of their independent status because their business models were no longer viable.
