The Professional Edge service, which has been highly regarded within the industry for a decade, has been further strengthened under the new AXA Wealth proposition.The newly enhanced AXA Wealth Professional Edge team is using an impressive 800 years combined experience to offer further value-add services to independent financial advisers.
The team of highly experienced business consultants has offered an extensive range of tailored solutions to more than 500 adviser businesses over the past 10 years, covering business management, skills development and platform implementation support.
To further improve the Professional Edge offering, the team, which has recently increased from 20 to 50 as it combined the original Winterthur Professional Edge team, Elevate's Platform Support team and the Pivotal Consultancy, will be rolling out a number of additional services, increasing the level of support offered to advisers as they keep pace with the rapidly changing environment in the run up to the Retail Distribution Review.
David Thompson, AXA Wealth's MD of UK Distributors, has overall responsibility for the newly formed team, which is managed day to day by one of his senior team, Lou Macari, AXA Wealth's head of business services.
David says: "Professional Edge has been offering first class advice and support to the IFA market for a decade. With the forthcoming RDR putting additional pressure on advisers to adapt to new ways of working, we believe the new Professional Edge service will prove to be invaluable. Our breadth of knowledge will see us moving further away from the more traditional provider/client relationship and bring us closer to working as a true business partnership."
As part of the new AXA Wealth Professional Edge service, the team piloted the Nine Conversations in Leadership programme, delivered in partnership with Leadership Consulting Partners*. The programme, which was successfully piloted with nine IFAs at the end of 2010, is designed to help advisers improve effectiveness in achieving their goals, their firms' operating efficiency, the quality of their clients' experience and the sustainability of their success, alongside existing traditional financial services training programmes.
Designed to grow and develop leadership capability, the course focuses on three core areas - knowledge and understanding, self-awareness and actions. It provides participants with exposure to leadership theory and best practice models, within the context of their collective experience and practical application.
Tracey Hackett, managing director, Harrison Beale & Owen, participated in the pilot and said: "The industry is undergoing huge changes. Business leaders need to have a strong focus on the direction of their business and their post-RDR proposition. They need to be equipped with the skills to articulate this to their teams. Taking time out to develop these skills as part of the Nine Conversations in Leadership pilot has been invaluable. It has helped me to break down my goals into manageable constituent parts. I noted these goals individually and still go back and refer to them to make sure I'm on track. I would encourage other IFAs to take maximum advantage of these leadership programmes."
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