The Intermediary – July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 91
B RO K E R B U S I N E S S
Opinion
Advisers are just as
unique as clients
I
t’s a truism of financial
advice that no two clients
are the same. Each come
with their own specific
circumstances, their own
needs and ambitions, which
the adviser needs to take into account
when ploing out the best path
ahead, whether they are buying a
first home, a last home, or somewhere
in between.
The best advisers recognise that
individuality in their clients, but it
can be all too easy to overlook the
fact that advisers are just as unique
themselves.
Each advice business has its own
particular strengths, and not only
recognising but trumpeting those
unique selling points can be key to the
advice firm’s future prospects.
What’s your niche?
Advice is a competitive industry,
and one approach I am increasingly
seeing among advisers is a focus on a
specific niche. They have pinpointed
a set of clients who they feel may have
particular challenges, which cause
them to be underserved by regular
advisers.
It might be a subset of borrowers,
like the self-employed, or it might be
a particular industry, such as those
working in medical professions. But
some advice firms are recognising
the opportunities which can come
from tailoring their service towards a
target market.
Heading up a network, I get a great
vantage point of just how varied advice
firms can be.
To give you some examples from
Rosemount, we have Paladin Advice,
which works with individuals
and families who have received
compensation aer suffering lifechanging injuries. This advice
will encompass considerations
like ongoing medical care, as well
as making the compensation last
for the long-term. It’s a unique
proposition, very different from the
likes of Contractor Financial, which
as the name suggests focuses on those
who work on a contractor basis,
borrowers who can be spectacularly
misunderstood by lenders and
providers, which leaves them in a
vulnerable position.
Then there is Lenderhive, which
specialises on green mortgages,
among countless others, all of which
have spoed an opportunity to carve
out some space for themselves and
deliver a more targeted experience to
their clients.
Getting seen
When it comes to serving a niche,
geing in front of the relevant clients
is the first big task. How can you
ensure you are front of mind for those
potential customers?
This is where referrals can prove
incredibly useful. By building
relationships with complementary
businesses, who serve that same
market, you can ensure a steady
stream of leads are generated.
Pinpointing businesses which not only
work with the right people, but share
the same ethos as you, will take time.
So too will building the partnerships
with them that deliver the clients, but
if you’ve found the right firms, it will
be time well spent.
Demonstrating expertise is crucial
here, too. It’s not enough to say that
you are focusing on, say, the selfemployed. You need to show that you
understand their particular challenges
– and how to overcome them – across
all of your communications.
There is no substitute for credibility,
which in turn will make it easier to
build those referral relationships.
The right support
It’s not just about identifying firms
that can point the right clients in your
direction, but which can actively
help you build the advice firm you are
aiming for.
AHMED BAWA
is CEO at Rosemount Financial
Solutions (IFA)
You might think this is something
of a given among networks – the beer
the adviser does, the beer for the
network, right?
However, just as all clients and
advisers are special in their own
ways, the same is also true of
networks. While some are built to
support advisers in developing wider
propositions, and exploring those
niches, others focus more on keeping
their advice firms within narrower
parameters.
There isn’t an obvious ‘right’ answer
here. Working with a network makes
an awful lot of sense at the moment,
given the ever-increasing regulatory
and compliance burden advisers
face, and that’s feeding through
into the contraction of the directly
authorised market.
Picking the right network will be a
personal decision, finding one which
aligns with your values and where
you want to take your advice business.
That said, you only have to look at a
network’s membership to get a decent
idea of whether they will be able to
help you build a successful niche, or
try to direct you into the ‘security’ of
looking like everyone else.
Because the reality is that, given
the way the market has become
increasingly specialised in recent
years, the need for advice firms who
truly understand specific niches is
only likely to grow. Good networks are
ready to support that growth, rather
than limit it. ●
July 2026 | The Intermediary
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