Market View From the Top from Spicers CEO Gordon Noble-Campbell

Overall experience is positive

7 December 2009

Today (together with Derek Grantham, Spicers’ Head of Advice) I had the opportunity of meeting with Sue Chetwin and Susan Guthrie from Consumer NZ, following Consumer’s recent mystery-shopper survey of financial advisers, and the “disappointing” rating that Spicers received.

The objective of our meeting was three-fold: firstly, to demonstrate that we indeed valued the opportunity to have our business objectively surveyed from a market perspective; secondly, to understand the experience of the mystery-shopper in more detail than was contained in the article following the survey; and finally, to determine if there was any learning arising from this which we could apply to Spicers’ business, as part of our goal of continuous improvement.

First and foremost, both Sue and Susan noted that the overall experience of the mystery-shopper was positive in terms of the advice process they followed with their Spicers adviser. Based on their feedback, leading up to the delivery of the plan recommendations, the mystery-shopper’s experience was everything I expected it would be from Spicers. In particular: the adviser was considered to be very competent; the analysis of the mystery-shopper’s financial situation was thorough; the clarity of the plan presented was good; and the required actions to implement the plan were well described. Also the structure of the broader business in support of the adviser was perceived to be a positive.

Having noted this, the survey did highlight areas where we could do better, and I welcomed the opportunity to comment on, and address, these.

Often in our experience, as part of the advice process, it’s necessary for a plan to be clarified or modified before it’s ultimately presented and implemented. In this case, the survey process did not lend itself easily to a longer-term engagement with the mystery-shopper. As a result, this did mean that the plan that was presented required further detailed information, to avoid the need for further clarification. I agree that where appropriate, our plans should carry as much clarification as possible concerning any recommendations made. We will review our process as a result.

Also in our discussion, we identified a number of areas which I believe did not compromise the quality of the advice provided, but were felt to be important in providing the necessary context for the recommendations that were made.

For example: providing further detail concerning the investment management governance process within Spicers’ business (i.e. how investments were selected or not selected); ensuring that where a plan recommends maintaining directly held investments on our platform, providing the written basis for that recommendation; ensuring that Spicers’ past performance information was provided in the case of all securities recommended and also presented consistently; and providing a sample portfolio report when a recommendation is made as part of a plan. I agree with all of these recommendations, and we will seek to adjust our plan outputs, where appropriate, to include them.

Consumer also observed that the cost of establishing a portfolio with Spicers was higher than some alternatives and that as a result, the value of the plan needs to be clearly articulated. This is an important point. The value of a Spicers’ advice relationship must always be clearly demonstrated, in all respects, including the portfolio returns experienced by a client.

Overall, I would like to thank Sue and Susan for their time in helping us understand the outcomes of the Consumer survey, and I recognise the importance of there being an objective market assessment of the financial advice profession. 

 If you have any questions around this article, please contact us at any time.

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