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Advisers are missing out on a "golden opportunity" by failing to exploit the crossover between personal and corporate clients, according to the founder of the Specialist Pensions Forum.
Mike Jones, founding member of the group of 20 leading pension providers, national IFAs and software houses, says IFAs will not find a better way to open up potential new business with small companies than through offering guidance about Personal Accounts.
"If an IFA has a client who is a business owner while dealing with him as a personal client it is also a golden opportunity to start a relationship with them as a corporate client," Jones says.
The former IFA and current voluntary adviser for The Pensions Advisory Service says the high level of ignorance about pension reform is a way in for advisers.
He says: "They should explain to employers about 2012, start up as a corporate IFA and potentially open up doors to a huge client base."
A recent Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) report, Understanding small employers' likely responses to the 2012 workplace pension reforms, suggests employers with 50 or less employees and some knowledge of the upcoming reforms were made aware of the legislation by their accountants.
None had heard about the reforms from any other sources including advisers.
"Why aren't IFAs running seminars and websites to keep businesses informed about the changes? It is a perfect scenario and a legitimate marketing opportunity," says Jones.
The study also highlighted the danger that staff would not be interested in a pension.
Jones says this is a gap advisers could exploit but are they are missing out because they have too narrow an idea of potential clients.
"Many IFAs are just dealing with high net worth individuals. More would like to deal with your average person but lack a business plan for it. They are loathe to jump over regulatory hoops for the open market option for little fees.
"But if you can do 10 average people in a day it can be very profitable. If you set out the systems procedures and processes it is possible," he says.
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Chasing the tail
I have been canvassing clients both SME and private, they all saying the same thing, Personal Accounts will not happen as designed, because this Government have U-turned so many times that no one is prepared to plan until they have to. Not least they are not prepared to spend money until the writing is actually on the wall, and they can be sure that the next government will not knock the wall down
Posted by: David Curley
Been there done that cont'd
Couldn't agree more with nameless. No sooner had we prepared an information document to give to existing clients than the rules changed again. There is also mass apathy from employers on this who see it as just another tax an extra Bureaucracy at a time when they are struggling to survive. Imagine then trying to go to new prospects with it. When we are confident that the rules arn't going to alter dramatically we will look at this again. But the Tories have said they will scrap PA's anyway. And round we go again: hohum
Posted by: Charles Seymour-Cole
Corporate Marketing
I agree with the sentiments of the previous posters, but as part of an overall marketing strategy during the next two years it wouldn't cost a small IFA that much in time or budget. Half a dozen pages on your website - specifically designated for small employers - combined with bi-monthly or monthly mailshots/newsletters with 'latest news' and links to your website. On the basis that it apparently takes a potential customer around 7 times to see a company's name before he/she 'buys', the lead-in period to 2012 gives ample time for an IFA business to become a familiar name with potential corporate clients. Just an opinion, that's all.
Posted by: Mike Jones
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Been there, done that
we advised on Group schemes from 1998 until recently, but have got totally disussuioned with having done our costings based on rules remaining contsant (especially post stakeholder false promises) and just cannot face going back to teh same even more negative people who are totally disullsioend with continual pension changes, especially as at means while we would be charging for added value explaining things, explaing changes which were unneccessary or not expected 8 years ago is not a fair use of our clients and their staffs money, it adds nothing to the value of society to keep change the rules, it just keeps lots of people of the dole and redistributes wealth, but then that's what Goldun Brun has done for the last 12 years!
Posted by: Nameless