What makes a good financial adviser?

Curiosity

A quality adviser is curious about their clients' personal circumstances and how to achieve their goals. They should always be open to new approaches and have intellectual curiosity. This ensures continual professional development.

From the very first meeting, good advisers demonstrate genuine curiosity about their clients and their goals.

Discipline

Discipline is a vital trait for a financial adviser to possess. A disciplined adviser knows how to navigate challenging financial times for a client and ultimately has a targeted approach. They base their advice on knowledge and experience rather than on quick financial fixes.

Active Listening

Research shows that the best advice comes from people who are active listeners. Being a good active listener demonstrates to clients that you are responsive to their needs and personal circumstances, and the conversations they have with you carry weight.

Active listeners can synthesise information to understand what their client truly wants to achieve with their finances.

Purpose and Passion

Without purpose and passion, a financial adviser can’t serve clients to the best of their ability. Having a sense of purpose and a passion for finance demonstrates to a client that you have their best interests at heart, and are personally invested in helping them achieve their financial goals.

Client-First Approach

Having a client-first approach is one of the most important professional qualities for a financial adviser to have. It builds trust and ensures you are always working towards your clients’ best interests.

Putting your client first means striving to always put in the work to achieve outcomes that benefit them, while keeping them informed throughout the process. In practical terms, a client-first approach looks like helpful customer service, coupled with personal advice and an ability to manage expectations.

Commitment to Ongoing Learning

Every financial adviser first needs core qualifications: A recognised degree, a completed professional year, and to pass the financial adviser exam. Beyond these milestones, excellent financial advisers should always be up to date on new processes and practices in the finance world. They’re also required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of approved Continued Professional Development to maintain their professional standards and registration.

The best financial advisers always research new ideas and are lifelong learners. Top-level advisers are always curious to find new ways to maximise client outcomes.

Honesty and Ethics

Being honest and ethical at all times is a fundamental aspect of being an excellent financial adviser. Good advisers will be realistic with their clients about the different outcomes that various courses of action can have.

Even if it means saying something their client might not like to hear, this honesty ultimately helps to make them fully aware of the risks involved in growing wealth. Honest and ethical advisers put their clients' needs first and protect their assets. They'll also safeguard against client disappointment by avoiding over promising.

For more information on the ethical requirements of financial advisers, see the Financial Planners and Advisers Code of Ethics.

Highly Knowledgeable

Great financial advisers have solid technical knowledge as well as broad knowledge of their field. They have a clear understanding of the financial product business and what may or may not work for their client.

This demonstration of knowledge makes clients feel like they've chosen the right financial adviser. On top of this, a good adviser should be aware of when they don’t know something within the finance sector, and strive to fill that knowledge gap.