Next generation and legacy advisers can thrive together
The world of financial advising has evolved from one of diaries, map books, manual premium calculations and a sales-driven focus to an advice-led profession leveraging Co-Pilot, MS Teams and product supplier applications to deliver the experience that the 21st century consumer expects.
Building an enduring advisory practice
Apologies for the wordy opener, dear reader, but this seemed an apt way to introduce an insightful presentation given under the banner: A fresh perspective on building enduring advisory value. The Glacier by Sanlam Ideas Lab 2025 discussion was all about advice and the adviser, but perhaps more importantly, it explored how these two constructs play out in the future. Rudolph Geldenhuys, CFP® at Firecrest Group, also offered a unique take on career stages in the financial planner world.
He juxtaposed new entrants to the exciting world of financial planning with advice professionals who have spent three or four decades in the industry. “The old adviser built his practice on nothing but dedication, discipline and professionalism, one client at a time, from the ground up,” Geldenhuys said. “This generation saw the shift [from] a sales-driven product push to the advice-led profession that we know today.” And, as it turns out, the legacy crowd struggle to understand the new generation of advisers.
The sticking points range from attire to choice of meeting locale, the then and now of suit and tie versus denim and sneakers; office boardroom versus coffee shop; and concentrated attention versus distracted, incessant tapping on a smartphone. “To the old adviser, a smartphone is a distraction; it is for client calls not for financial planning,” Geldenhuys said. To summarise, someone who has been in the industry for decades might dismiss a newcomer for spending hours sipping lattes and scrolling Instagram instead of working.
Moving the profession into the future
Times have changed. “There is a different way of building relationships, being present and doing work,” Geldenhuys said. Boardrooms, pen and paper and suit and tie have made way for flexible workspaces, smartphones and tablets and casual attire. The presenter expressed gratitude for what the so-called old guard had done for the industry, saying they had established the professionalism and earned clients’ trust “one handshake at a time.” The caveat: what worked brilliantly in the past is unlikely to carry the profession into the future.
The way forward demands putting old and emerging advisory practices under the spotlight and extracting the best aspects from each. “Both generations have some blind spots,” Geldenhuys said. He argued that the ‘old hands’ held too tightly to tradition, while newer entrants to the market risked pushing too quickly into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. “We assume that technology solves all problems,” said the 2024 FPI Financial Planner of the Year. “But you cannot pitch up five minutes before a meeting and rely on your preferred large language model (LLM) to prepare.”
From this point, the focus shifted to bridging the gaps between legacy and new advisory practices to build something stronger, an exercise the presenter framed around combining the art and science of financial planning. “If the science of financial planning is about the numbers, then the art of financial planning is about the people,” he said.
The art of financial planning
The art of financial planning spans being there for a recent widow lost in a sea of emotion and paperwork to helping couples agree over financial decisions when they cannot agree on dinner to coaching clients through the rollercoaster of selling the family home or nearing retirement. These are all areas where human advice trumps AI, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Advisers must practise active listening and empathy to build unshakeable, trust-based relationships with clients. This trust helps clients stay the course through repeated financial market shocks.
A message that will resonate with financial advisers is that their careers follow a path that emulates the life stages they advise their clients through. “These difficult conversations show up in our own profession,” Geldenhuys said, referring to a recent interaction with a fellow financial planner in his late 60s. The financials were in order, but this planner was struggling with identity post-succession. Many in the profession view their day-to-day interactions and helping clients as their purpose, their reason for being.
Those stepping into financial advising in the 2020s will hardly recognise the processes and tools their predecessors relied on two or three decades ago. Client expectations have shifted; the regulatory landscape is unrecognisable, yet the key tenets of adviser-client relationships remain. “We have [a] once-in-a-lifetime opportunity [whereby] experienced planners can share their wisdom, and the next generation planners can share their ways of connecting with clients,” Geldenhuys said. Old plus new can deliver a next-level client customer experience.
Robots cannot replicate these human traits
By a happy coincidence, this approach also solves the challenge of servicing a multi-generational client book within an advisory practice. The presenter finished his ‘art of financial planning’ conversation by pointing out humanity, measured by compassion, empathy and trust, could not be replicated by technology.
The science of advising is where AI, automation and other technologies really shine. “If the art is what keeps us deeply human, then the science is what allows us to scale and become more efficient,” he said. Future-fit advisory practices must leverage technology to introduce efficiency and scale, creating repeatable advisory journeys that still allow advice to be personalised to each client’s needs.
According to Geldenhuys, science builds confidence while tech-infused processes and systems enable advisory practices to navigate succession changes in their stride. The science behind financial advice ensures a consistent client experience, safeguarding trust across generations.
The science of financial advice
Geldenhuys offered a four-factor science solution for advisory practices, starting with a single source of truth for the client. “The CRM tool you choose does not really matter; this is about keeping your single source of truth accurate,” he said. You cannot afford for every person in your practice to be working off a different version of the client. The second science tool is an analytics engine to sharpen decision-making, to help advisers guide clients through tough financial transactions and stress-test various financial planning assumptions.
Third on the list, workflows that create consistency. Tasking and workflow processes were described as “the backbone of being professional” and advisers were encouraged to consider a wide array of tasks from first meeting to onboarding to annual reviews and succession discussions. Number four was to use technology to multiply presence by, for example, ensuring that each client receives attention and that repeatable admin tasks are automated. Put differently, technology should be deployed to amplify financial advising, not replace humans.
The timelessness of art plus science
“The art of financial planning is what inspires trust in advisers and our profession, and the science ensures that this trust is not broken,” Geldenhuys said. “Together, they make our profession timeless.” He called for the experienced planners in the room to welcome next-generation financial planners as true partners in legacy building. In concluding, he reminded those entering or just starting out in the profession that financial advising makes a significant difference to clients’ lives. It goes beyond transactions to impact and transformation.
Writer’s thoughts:
Financial advisers often talk about a clash between old and new, but real value emerges when experience and fresh thinking combine. Are we doing enough to blend legacy advising with next-generation innovation? Please comment below, interact with us on X at @fanews_online or email us your thoughts [email protected].
