I recently had the pleasure of talking with Scott Brouwer, Head of the AFSL Banyan Securities. He entered the financial services profession some 30 years ago after completing an accounting qualification. Over that time, he has experienced working in small partnerships as well as spending a few years working for a listed advice firm.
Scott related, ‘We have bought and sold practices along the way, but I’ve always proudly worked at the coal face as a client facing adviser.”
His wide-ranging experience as a hands-on advisor makes him an interesting person to listen to his opinions and thoughts.
Scott shared his insights on starting his own AFSL, Banyan Securities. “Getting your own AFSL is quite popular now, but this comes with pros and cons. It makes more sense to us to have a small group of likeminded businesses working together, as this provides for a sharing of ideas and enables some level of scale” he said.
Scott offered the following thoughts on moving AFSL’s for advisors. All AFSL’s large and small have their place, so you need to find the best fit for your business not just for today but for the future. Banyan is a good fit for mature practices who do not want all the headaches that come with running their own AFSL or the overarching bureaucracy of the larger groups but do want the benefits of being with a small, nimble group.
I asked Scott what were some of Advantages and Benefits of joining such an organisation as Banyan Securities?
He mentioned the following attributes:
- An agnostic APL. They are always interested in new additions that will help their advisors and of course the clients of advisors.
- Banyan is a non-institutional AFSL. This means they are not committed to advise on major product lines like some vertically integrated organisations have been
- Their system is a strategies-based advice format
- Because of their agility they are aware of the critical importance of proper software support, installation, and maintenance
- Due to their relative new presence Banyan have created a supportive compliance regime that is proactive rather than reactive without baggage from previous upgrades or alterations
- Banyan has a competitive fee structure
- JV opportunities exist within the group to be a paid advisor servicing client bases or as a stand-alone AR with your own clientele
- Banyan will work with their advisors on marketing initiatives and prospecting for new business opportunities
- Competitive, cost effective and quick changeover protocols for advisors
I asked Scott if there were any new products or services Banyan is introducing soon?
He shared, “We are about to release a transition service which will enable any firms who join Banyan to efficiently review the client offering and service as part of the initial Banyan advice document.”
For the record Scott is married to Kerry (for 29 years) and they have two adult children. He is a former Australian boxing champion and a tragic St Kilda (AFL) supporter. He was born after the only St Kilda Premiership in 1966. He hopes he lives long enough to see another one! He is also a member of the Victorian Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board
And finally, Scott shared some of his 2023 plans for Banyan
“2023 is shaping up as a very exciting year for Banyan. We have bedded down some really effective software enhancements which is making the advice delivery and ongoing service more efficient and importantly the inbuilt compliance monitoring provides a real time benefit to help protect everyone’s backside!”
For a no obligation chat about the Banyan Securities opportunity please call Scott today on 0447 538 216 or drop him a line at scottb@prosperum.com.au