In the past week, a business owner was keen to have a conversation to become clear about the future direction of the business such that he would better able to focus his energies going forward.

The business owner has to date operated in two areas, being as a financial advisor and as a mortgage and finance broker.  When we quickly researched these two areas, the following trends emerged:

• There has been a 43% decline in the number of registered financial advisors since 2018, with numbers expected to drop below 13,000 by 2024; and
• In the past year, the annual growth in the number of registered mortgage and finance brokers was 5.2%, with the number exceeding 19,000, and indications are that this number will continue to grow.

When reflecting on these trends, the business owner believed the growing complexity in both areas meant the case for a consumer engaging with each remains strong.

If the choice for the business was the Miss Australia Quest, the number of contestants a consumer could choose from in the mortgage & finance industry was increasing whereas the number in the finance broking was declining.  In other words, the former will be a more competitive market as each contestant must prove their competitive advantage to the consumer.  On the other hand, in the latter, the consumers’ choices is restricted which means the contestants are more likely to be able to pick & choose with whom they wish to work.

Given this, the business owner decided to focus his energies on developing products to service the financial service side of the business.