Partnerships often put in place a support structure, for instance offering paraplanning and administration support. This can be set out as a core offering or offered as a bolt-on service, allowing advisers to pick and choose the services they want and have control over the additional cost they want to incur.
Generally speaking, the quicker the advisers grow their businesses, the quicker the overall national partnership business grows, which means both sides benefit from the extra support.
As under a partnership model all advisers operate under the same brand, this makes it somewhat easier to market the business and build the brand. But it also means the message needs to be consistent.
For instance, centrally driven marketing and client engagement projects are needed to help advisers drive their business while promoting the brand of the partnership at the same time.
Continuum has grown quickly but we made sure this growth was measured and controlled. We put in place an education and loyalty programme that is used by advisers to share with their clients and prospective clients.
A targeted education programme can bring in new business for the advisers as clients and prospects share the materials with their wider family and friend groups. The material can also be shared online through social media, and in the press, slowly growing the brand's recognition.
A national partnership model can also offer advantages when it comes to attracting and retaining advisers and support staff.
We believe that by enabling advice teams to maintain a sense of ownership as partners, the model allows them to attract more IFAs with the same vision, making growth potentially more sustainable.
As long as the business spends the time upfront to ensure that advisers understand the partnership culture and focus, we believe they will rarely lose advisers who have joined.
Our advisers tell us that they feel much closer to the business than they would do through other models.
There is typically more regular and more positive collaborative communication under a partnership model.
Controlling compliance
Acting under one brand holds certain compliance advantages as the compliance team has greater control over what is being shared than they might under, for example, a network structure.
Uniformity of approach can be a real benefit in this sense and can result in high-quality professional indemnity insurance cover, with standard excesses and premium cover.
