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Five years ago I stood to address the annual Financial Planning Association (FPA) conference in Sydney and delivered an hour-long address to delegates to the effect that the industry was at the beginning of a renaissance period.

This was the year of Kevin 07, the end of John Howard’s leadership, and a period of relative stability ahead of the looming global financial crisis the following year. But planners were not in a good frame of mind.

This was a silent generation of quality people, doing quality work. But they were also the planners of the ‘compare the pair’ generation toiling under a massive weight of scrutiny and criticism that was often unjustified. Remuneration was a by-word for corrosive evil. Nobody dared mention their occupation at a social gathering. Modern day exiles, at least in a reputational sense.

My subject that day was the reputation of financial planning.

My thesis, based on some 15 years of first-hand experience in and around the industry, was that good quality financial planners would overcome the slings and arrows of their detractors by showing, not telling their merits. Actions speak louder than words.

I portrayed a future where positive press would outweigh the negative. The reaction by the audience to this simple vision was fascinating – so cynical were the planners who spoke to me privately afterwards, many confessed they did not expect to see any positive media in relation to financial planning during their lifetime. The notion of a press headline that spoke to the benefits of financial advice was just a bridge too far.

Remember, these people had survived a period of massive industry consolidation during the 1990s, seen the rise of the big four banks, the aggressive start of vertically integrated ‘distribution’ models and the omnipresence of administration platforms, against which the ‘compare the pair’ campaign waged its prime time TV war.

So, imagine for a minute standing to convince some 600 hard bitten folk of the key message that there was no better way to re-build the industry’s reputation than by starting today at the grass roots. And, like any investment strategy you recommend to a client, there is no quick fix. No silver bullet. No ‘get rich quick’ scheme.

This was about a long burn process of being consistent with the people best-placed to comment and convey the undeniable truth – valued clients, staff and community. This was also about ignoring the crushing weight of popular opinion about financial planning knowing that one day the combined force of all of those first-hand accounts, together with higher regulation, consistent professional standards and greater disclosure on key issues such as remuneration would swing the reputation pendulum in favour of planning.

Has it worked?

I recently opened my weekend newspaper and was delighted to see an article by Annette Sampson (click here to read) putting the positive case for planners.  Annette’s coverage on behalf of consumers of the wealth management, super and advice sectors over the years has been without fear and certainly without favour of anybody, least of all planners. Annette is a senior scribe and her frank opinion expressed to readers of the Fairfax press carries great weight and is to be respected. Her piece, featuring the 2012 FPA chief Mark Rantall, is a positive sign that, finally, the message is getting through.

*And, in the interests of disclosure, yes, the FPA is a client of BlueChip Communication. Proudly so.

To read BlueChip’s blog about the departure of senior journalists, such as Annette Sampson from Fairfax, please click here.

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