Hear Sue Viskovic, General Manager, Consulting at VBP, trace her career in financial services, and discuss how she started Elixir Consulting (now part of VBP) to provide business coaching to advice firms.

Sue recounts the challenges when advice businesses moved from commissions to fee-based models. She emphasizes the need for advisers to understand the intricacies of running a business, thorough business planning and being well-capitalized. Sue predicts that scalability will be crucial for advice businesses and outlines how practice management roles, technology (especially AI, data and CRM systems), and outsourcing to countries like the Philippines, can significantly reduce costs and improve efficiency. Lastly, Sue mentions how VBP helps firms looking to improve their operations through consulting, coaching, and outsourcing services.

Listen to Hugh Humphrey, CEO of Count, as he traces his unique career path from roles in consulting, to telecommunications, and eventually to financial advice, now leading one of the largest licensee groups in Australia.

Hugh shares the leadership insights he gained from other impressive leaders, such as values-based decision-making, the importance of effective communication, and the need to respond quickly and transparently when problem-solving. He chats through the evolving role of the licensee and the areas he is focused on with scaling the business, diversifying revenue streams, and integrating technology to improve client service. Finally, Hugh identifies technology and outsourcing as crucial for increasing efficiency and client capacity, while also emphasizing the need for more advisers and new ways for people to enter the profession.

Hear Danielle Press, ex-Commissioner of ASIC and Consultant at Income Asset Management (IAM), discuss her diverse career in finance, including her roles at the Reserve Bank, a family office, and ASIC, before joining IAM.

Danielle shares her views on leadership and change management, emphasizing the importance of honesty, humility, and vulnerability to get the best out of people, and creating a balanced leadership team. She reflects on the impact of the Royal Commission and the Quality of Advice Review on financial services and shares her ‘back to the future’ prediction on the role of superfunds. Finally, she discusses the future of hybrids, her current work on fixed income and bonds, and her efforts to make bonds more accessible to retail investors through Netwealth.