After more than ten years of data, one question still cuts to the heart of the advice industry: what are advisers actually afraid of? In a recent INN8 webinar, Georgina Smith, Head of Distribution at INN8 Investment Platform, sat down with Evan Baars, Partner at NMG Consulting, to unpack what the data is telling us about the state of financial advice in South Africa.
NMG has been surveying advisers in the South African market since 2013, building one of the most comprehensive data sets in the industry. When asked what's keeping advisers up at night, the answer has shifted considerably over the years - from local politics, to load shedding, and now, clearly and consistently, regulation.
For a single-person advice business without the support of a larger firm, it's not just a concern; it's the concern. The uncertainty of exactly how regulation will land, informed by what's played out in the UK and Australia, points toward one likely outcome: more complexity, more cost, and more pressure on smaller practices.
One of the more compelling takeaways from the conversation was around how advisers actually grow their businesses. NMG's data shows that 76% of an adviser's clients come from referrals, yet very few have a deliberate referral model in place. The opportunity, then, isn't in distraction-driven strategies like acquisitions. It's in deepening what already exists: a trusted client base, shared wallet conversations, and a purposeful approach to growing from the inside out. INN8 is purpose-built to support this kind of intentional practice.
When advisers are asked why they work with a DFM, the answer is consistently about partnership, not just performance. DFMs that invest in helping advisers evolve their businesses retain that trust. Those that step back from the relationship and become more transactional quickly feel the effects. It's a dynamic that's already played out in the UK, and one worth watching closely here.
The question of next-generation clients came up thoughtfully. Younger clients may be comfortable self-directing their investments until a life event changes everything. Divorce, inheritance, the loss of a parent: these are the moments that create the need for genuine advice. The advisers best positioned for this are those already thinking in terms of families, not just individual clients.
As Evan put it, some of the most exciting practices aren't counting clients at all, they're counting families. That's a meaningful shift, and a reminder of what it means to be a true Adviser's Partner.
