What Drives Us? Partnerships, Fun and the Results They Deliver

SYDNEY - Oct. 4, 2017 - PRLog -- ASX-listed Financial services group, Centrepoint Alliance, knows a thing or two about results, given the rate and pace at which it has achieved them.

The company closed 2016 with a net profit before tax of 4.6 million, on annual revenues of over $40 million, up 79% from the previous year.

What's driven the company's results? – 'Partnerships' – says CEO, John de Zwart

In the last financial year, Centrepoint Alliance recruited 59 Financial Planners and Advisers.

These partnerships - which were selectively entered into after taking care to ensure values and goals were aligned - have been central to the exceptional results the company has enjoyed over recent years.

But partnerships aren't all that define Centrepoint Alliance

CEO, John de Zwart, admits in an interview with Professional Planner magazine, that Financial Planning is dry.

"It's not a fun environment. It's bureaucratic; the documentation is huge.

But I think a lot of that can be done in a much simpler way. How do you bring that enjoyment back into what you are doing, and service the end-customer needs? That's what we're trying to do. How do we make this a profession, how do we make this fun, how do we make this profitable for the adviser?"

Fun and games for everyone - but what about the client?

de Zwart is clear on this – the client is front and central to the business – always has been and always will be.

de Zwart does not believe that 'the client is getting anything from the fee disclosure statement and the massive statement of advice.'

However, he says, "there is some stuff in there that's really, really critical: understanding your customer, understanding your solutions that are being provided, and meeting their needs!"

There is no negotiation on how to serve clients

Centrepoint has two clients - their community of 'Financial Planners and Advisers', and the end users of their financial products and solutions.

To ensure service levels are always high, Centrepoint Alliance benchmarks their rating with clients, reviewing results regularly.

The company uses technology in an extensive way to provide their team with tools which they can use to better enhance their services.

In December 2016, they began rolling out an XPlan solution which gives their advisers immediate and secure access to solutions that better fit their customers' needs.

Financial planners need to reorient with why they entered the industry in the first place

"Financial planners," de Zwart says, have "forgotten why they got into the financial planning and financial services industry.

"A focus on compliance and administration has distracted and hence detracted from the more satisfying and valuable parts of the job.

The value is not in 'dishing out advice'. It is in understanding the customer's financial goals and providing solutions that are focused on achieving them!"

Centrepoint Alliance is on the lookout for quality Financial Planners and Financial Advisers in Australia.

If you would to join our team, please contact us on 1300 557 598 or visit https://www.centrepointalliance.com.au.