When Jason Kwong decided it was time to move to a new licensee, high on his list was finding a partner who could provide the technical and compliance support he needed. And, like Goldilocks, Jason was looking for a licensee that was not too big and not too small. For Jason, Centrepoint Alliance had the right mix of personal attention and subject matter expertise to meet his needs. We asked Jason to share his thoughts on what the transition to Centrepoint Alliance was like.
When you decided to change licensee, what were the important things that you were looking for?
When I was looking at changing licensees, there were probably three key areas that I looked at – reputation, support and size.
Reputation. When it came to reputation, I wanted to ensure that whoever I chose had a good track record and was a business that I was confident would be here for the long run.
Support. I was also focused on finding a licensee that had very good support services for advisers. I looked at the group’s compliance record and technical support. I really wanted to find a place that was serious about compliance and had a good support team.
Size. And I didn't want to work with another big licensee, because while they have some great support, they can be quite bureaucratic. At the same time, I didn't want to align with someone that was too small and who would struggle to provide the comprehensive services at the right support level.
That’s what led me to Centrepoint Alliance, because they fulfill all the above criteria.
How long did the decision process take?
All up, it took probably about two months. I was quite methodical in the process that I went through. I started with a big list of all the licensees and then continued to narrow the list down until I had a shortlist of about four or five licensees. I spoke to them in some detail, and eventually narrowed it down to Centrepoint Alliance.
When it came to making the decision, one of the tipping points was the relationship that I’d developed with my business consultant, Elaine Sze. I really felt that Elaine focused on helping me to make the right decision that would give me the right outcome. It really gave me the confidence to align myself with someone that I knew would help me to work on my business.
What were some of your concerns about making the transition?
I think the biggest concern for me was how long it was going to take to exit from my licensee. Both the group I was exiting from and Centrepoint Alliance had some rigorous processes for the move, but overall, I was happy with the process from both sides and was able to fully transition in about three months.
Part of joining a new licensee is that you must go through a vetting process. I was a little worried that this might slow down giving advice to my clients, but I found that the professional standards team at Centrepoint Alliance went out their way to help me meet the timeframes for my clients, and it was just a really good experience. This demonstrated to me that the team were just as focused on clients as I was.
What do you enjoy about being a part of Centrepoint Alliance?
For me, I’ve found that Centrepoint has a real family feel and I really like that environment. When I contact the team support, I am likely to speak to someone I have previously spoken to, so there tends to be that continuity of support across the various teams.
Once I'd made the decision to come to Centrepoint Alliance, I realised that I actually didn’t know any planners who were part of Centrepoint Alliance. But the great thing with Elaine is that she has been very active in helping me to get to know the community. I’ve already joined a peer group and I’m looking forward to going to the next Masterclass, meeting some of the other planners, sharing ideas and helping each other with different business issues. So, I am looking forward to forming some closer relationships with other planners in the network and working with Elaine to look at my business plan and find opportunities to grow my business in the future.
