Prestwood lures top advisers into mentor programme

Ah well if you are short of business what better way to turn a few bob than leech off others. So the gurus will no doubt get paid and I guess Prestwood will take their cut. Yet again:

Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,

And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.

I always thought that IFAs gave financial advice to the public and that development was provided by trade and professional bodies.

Looks like I'm wrong yet again.

Or is this just a marketing excercise for the software? If so are the gurus on commission?

I always thought that if you ran a successful practise it took all of your time, and the only people with lots of spare time had nothing to do and too few clients....

So have these people given up their own practices to do this? Do their clients accept that they don't take up so much of their time anymore and yet still pay full fees. Sounds to me these are merely "management consultants for those paying for the software" in this instance and little more.

I would however specifically ask Citywire on what basis they describe these people as "top advisers" and "a swathe of top financial planners". What are the criria you use, so that if I fulfill them now I can tell clients that Citywire rate me as a "top financial planner" too.

The problems embedded in our industry in two simple submissions - it must be awful to be so bitter, jealous and sceptical in life to have to make such comments about a fairly benign subject.

However, the deeper issue for me is how our industry constsntly needs to snipe between itself as if to prove themselves worthy and superior. Such behaviour screams of a need to be accepted as bright and successful by their peers.

In the time-honoured fashion of the Citywire blogs to mis-use Latin quotes or other malapropisms - for these people who crave such acceptance I refer to that great philosopher Jung and would blame their mothers.

Mister Maker

Not bitter or jealous in the slightest. Sceptical? 100%. Latin quotes - I didn't see one above. Jung - the care of the Id by the Odd.

Seeking to be worthy or superior - to the contrary - trying to prick the balloon of those who think they are.

Crave acceptance - go back to your amateur psychoanalysis - I crave no one's acceptance. (Except that of my wife). My clients or anyone else can take it or leave it - it's up to them. There is far too much bull manure in this business and true – I have taken it upon myself from time to time – unbidden – to try and clean some of it up.

Additionally unlike you I am not bashful in using my real name. Pity Citywire have problems with their site and don't for some reason have my full name. Harry Katz.

Harry - you must have inadvertently entered 'Harry K' when asked for your display name after we launched the new site. I'll get our support guys to change it for you.

Cheers

Rich

Readers might like to know that the mentors are all experienced Prestwood software users with fee based practices producing recurring income. They are of course paid for their time to tutor other users, and you only have to look at the limited number of attendees allowed at tutoring sessions to see that after the mentors are paid there is little or nothing in it for Prestwood, other than the creation of more success within its user base. This no doubt will attract more users for them, so of course they have a vested interest in creating more successful financial planners. As Paul Etheridge has often said "subscribing to the software does not make you a successful financial planner". Just like buying a new Porche does not make you a racing driver. Users need to be shown how to change from a product based advice mentality to a planning based recurring income model. Yes of course the trade bodies and professional bodies could be doing more to help people make the transition, but if attendees all have different systems then it is difficult to find a practical common denominator, and the transition becomes frustrating without a detailed roadmap. Where better to start than with advisers using the same system, seeing what it can do, producing the results, signing up the clients, and building their businesses?

This commercial arrangement whereby advisers willingly exchange money for assistance in building their practices could hardly be considered leeching, which could be defined as a one way draining of benefit or resource (even blood), from another without giving anything in exchange.

There are indeed many matters causing frustration in our community right now, and this is evident in the sniping and bitterness flowing through some of the posts. Is it not extraordinary that when a well respected firm like Prestwood takes the initiative to make a real effort to raise the bar for those willing to up their game that it is criticised in this way?

Lets try to raise the standard of debate guys.

Harry K - congratulations on identifying my amateur status as a psychologist. Now doubt you picked up that of course blaming mother was not a Jung-ism but a Freud-ism.

I think my point is why would a peer want to "prick the bubble" in the first place. If you have nothing to prove to anyone (other than your wife) - why bother? Surely there is more productive commentary to be made as opposed to this petty bashing?

In terms of being bashful - I am sure you will appreciate the irony of using a pseudonym on the internet. Also using a pseudonym is far more inventive than simple Anonymous postings - after all where would the world be without Pseudonyms!!

Come on boys, calm down, its only a website! It would appear that Harry and Mr M are experienced advisors, lets display a little respect for one another. We all have the right to be wrong!

To be fair there has always been and always will be leeches in this industry, after nearly 30 years I have seen many of them, regulatory bodies, networks, trade associations, colledges of knowledge or course peddlars and I suppose as a practice owner I leach off the backs of my consultants to a certain extent.

However, when you exchange professional services or something of value, to the user, for a an agreed amount, perhaps the leech argument goes away. If the buyers of Mr Etheridges products are satisfied that they get good value for the money they pay - then fine, for me I am sure most successful advisors still rely on the fundamental interpersonal skills and technical knoweldege that seems to have changed very little over those 30 years, sure products come and go and "Sales Ideas" follow shortly thereafter, but the essence of good client relationship, considered advice,selection of the appropriate tools for the job and a fair pay for a fair days labour, or a % of the impact of your labours.

Let the free market flow. Do what we do best and avoid self destruction.

Rob Magee

Have a great day all of you!!

Is there anything intrinsically wrong with what Prestwood are doing? Nothing obvious, I suggest.

So why does the headline infer that there is?

People are not "LURED" without there being an inference of some sort of disadvantage or perhaps illegal activity or furtiveness.

This is the language of the gutter press and has no place in our profession.

Why not have the headline as "RECRUITED" as the text goes on to say? Or are we all just "greedy salespeople, hungry for commission"???

Or maybe I'm just a cynic who is totally fed up with the constant media attacks on our industry?

I cant wait to attend