Slowly but surely change is coming to the offshore financial advice market.
Regulation is creeping in from a number of quarters.
Product providers are altering or withdrawing their products.
Consumers are rapidly becoming more aware of the details – and in particular the costs – of the products being recommended.
So what is the future for Financial Advisers?
Talking from experience having been through the process in the UK, I can say that changing from an initial commission business model is hard, and can take time. For many, that transition is impossible as it can take years to replace initial commission income with renewal income, at a level that’s worthwhile.
Changing jobs, or retiring may be easier – and in the UK about 30% of advisers left the industry as the changes hit home.
But there lies opportunity for those advisers that remain – less competition, more regular income stream, and less reliance on finding new clients to sell to.
The question is, how do financial advisers make the transition from initial commission to renewal income, without going broke along the way?