By Angus Benbow, Chief Executive Officer
Last fortnight, Centrepoint hosted delegates from our community at our Annual Partner Summit. This included advisers from Alliance Wealth, Professional Investment Services and from our network of AAP licensees, as well as their partners, partnership support representatives and Centrepoint staff.
The Summit was hosted in the middle of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Hanoi is a city of eight million people and almost as many motor scooters. Despite the frenetic pace of life there, the people are gentle and friendly and we felt very safe all the time.
I encourage you to watch this video for a taste of what we enjoyed.
A dominant theme of the conference was change. Change in the industry through regulatory pressure and the Royal Commission, through technology and through market pressures generally.
Most, if not all, delegates acknowledged these changes are timely and will see the profession, including Centrepoint, stronger than ever. The Strategic Refresh, which was announced during our FY18 Financial Results, is our way of addressing these pressures and I had many delegates comment to me they appreciate the initiatives we are proposing as well as the transparency with which they are being undertaken.
The speakers for this year’s Summit were truly A-listers. We heard presentations which encouraged delegates to challenge themselves, think big, to communicate simply and lead with authenticity.
One of the presentations described how society is more anxious than ever about financial wellbeing. The presenter went on to say that financial advice is the only profession established and equipped to help. He reminded me of the privilege we have to work in this field, a field that is focused on serving people with financial pressures and helping them to realise their dreams, often during times they need help most.
During the Summit, and since returning, I have been overwhelmed by the congratulations that advisers, staff and other attendees have given the Centrepoint team. There was a great sense of coming together, of sharing and trust. The bonds that were formed and strengthened over the last week or so, between advisers and with Centrepoint staff, will sustain many as we head into a period of significant industry uncertainty, and look to reset and re-establish our position in the industry.
A highlight of the conference was the money we raised for BeyondBlue - more than $10,000. A great result for a worthy cause. Thank you to our advisers for making this possible.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing more video content and speaker presentations from the Summit but for now, I want to thank the whole team that was involved, whether you were in Hanoi, helped prepare or stayed back in support.
We look forward to seeing you in Bangkok in 2019!