The struggle for adviser capacity
These days, we see advisers doing more administration work than we saw 5 or 10 years ago. Research, plan requests and even application forms are unnecessarily taking up their time and stifling capacity.
And this is not simply due to more compliance.
So what's driving the hesitation to hand-over to a support role?
Is it finding the right support?
A lack of trust?
Or something else?
5 Replies
- jenny.brown
Advisely Board
Interesting that you are finding that Tamara.Morey I guess increased compliance regimes has something to do with the changes. In our practice, we are always talking about ensuring that the "surgeons are doing surgery" so ensuring that advisers are seeing and talking to clients, creating strategies and ensuring we are growing as a business, our paraplanners, whether in-house or outsourced are doing just that, creating the plans and our admin team are looking after the admin.
Of course there are always some admin jobs we have to do as advisers, like checking advice docs, or following up if things are not getting done, but I would be confident that 80% of what we do is working with our clients not doing admin, we don't have enough time in our day to do the admin as well. - justin.grimaNetwork Navigator
Something I see often is advisers who either don't have the confidence in the abilities of their support staff or they feel that it would take longer to explain what needs to be done than to just do it themselves. It's a tough one and really shows the value of having members of your support team who you have worked with for some time and who understand your operating rhythm
- deborah.kent
Advisely Board
Hi Tamara we happily oursource our paraplanning but to be honest outsourcing admin is something that I am not confident about and our staff feel the same way especially with off shore. It is something that is a conversation topic of ours especially with the extra work around OFAs
- Tamara.Morey
Advisely Partner
Hi Deb, I think the beauty of a virtual office like yours is that you've opened yourself up to many options for support. Improving adviser capacity doesn't have to mean outsourcing, if that model doesn't work for you. Your 'support' could be a permanent team member you employ directly (or as a contractor paid per task), based anywhere in Australia. The candidate pool is multiplied when you are no longer limited to your immediate location.
- rainier.reyes
Advisely Team
Interesting topic, Tamara.Morey! Eager to hear what advisers or even support staff in the community think!
Welcome to the Advisely forums!
This is where financial advice professionals from all walks of life come together to share knowledge, swap ideas, solve problems, and talk all things growth and efficiency.
Here are some tips when posting in the forums:
- Be respectful and courteous to fellow members
- If a reply helped you, mark it as a solution so other users can find it easily
- Take a moment to read through our Community Guidelines
- For Xplan support issues, it's best to raise a ticket in Iress Connect first. You can also search the discussions for posts about the same issue first before starting a new thread.
- Keep an eye out for our 'Ask me anything (AMA)' threads – these are live text-based Q&As with industry and Xplan experts during a set period of time. Find out when the next one is happening here.
- Don’t be shy! You don’t need to be an expert to help someone out. Many users are looking for practical advice, shared experiences, or just a fresh perspective
- Introduce yourself and meet other members here!
We’re glad you’re here – see you around! 😁
Recent Discussions
🤓 Xplan Hint: Email Signatures That Stick!
Did you know Xplan recently updated how email and SMS signatures work when using the 'Override From Address' option? Why the Change? No more worrying about an email going out with the wrong signa...courtney.youngblutt20 hours agoXplan Expert64Views3likes8Comments🚨 Last chance: Have your say (and win a $1,000 Visa gift card!)
We’re wrapping up the Adviser Technology Survey, and your input could make all the difference. Tell us how you’re really using tech in your advice business: what’s working, what’s not - and help sh...natalie.ng11 days agoIress Team27Views0likes0Comments🤓 Xplan Hint: Editing existing insurances inside Risk Researcher
Did you know that you can now edit existing insurances directly within Risk Researcher? A new Edit button has been added next to each existing insurance policy in the scenario. Once clicked, you a...courtney.youngblutt14 days agoXplan Expert10Views0likes0Comments

