Lifetime puts all advisers into salaries

Adviser group Lifetime has changed its remuneration structure, moving advisers onto an annual salary following its merger with Camelot NZ last year.

Friday, October 11th 2019, 4:41PM

TMM Online can reveal that Lifetime advisers have agreed to move to a salary structure with share bonuses.

The new structure sees Lifetime adopt a model used by Camelot advisers for several years.

Peter Cave, Managing Director of Lifetime, said the move was part of the integration process between the two groups, which announced a merger in April last year.

Cave believes the pay structure is more "client-centric", and will be better suited to the new regulatory environment, placing more focus on customer outcomes, and less on sales-driven targets.

He said: "The driver was putting the two models together and working out the right one going forward. With a close watch on what's going on globally with the Royal Commission, and saying where do we add value? In the client service model. It was a natural fit for us."

Cave added: "We sat down and looked at how we manage advice relationships on behalf of clients. It's far easier with this structure than with commission-sharing arrangements. We are giving our board comfort that clients are going to be best looked after."

"We wanted a more corporate model in this new regulatory framework. We thought, instead of working silos, let's put them into a team environment with group performance and remuneration," Cave said.

Lifetime will be a FAP under the new regime with advisers working underneath the licence.

Cave believes lenders will prefer a "central management structure" under the new regime, rather than "dealing with individuals one on one": "We've had good support from suppliers, acknowledging that this is a structure that makes sense for them as well."

Cave said not all advisers agreed to the model, and subsequently, "a few decided it wasn't the model for them": "Some have gone out on their own, but the majority have stayed," he said.

Tags: camelot Lifetime