Simply Navigating Complexity with Lara Warburton

So grab a coffee , sit back and let's get ready to blast off . I'm your host , francois Dutouet Lara . Warm welcome to Propulsion .

Laura , just a little bit about you and sort of just a brief overview of your experience and your history and how you got started and how did you get to where you are today . Just in a brief overview before we get into the details .

My parents had moved up here and my first job was with Investec , originally on their unit trust side of their business .

I only lasted a year at Investec and then moved to RMB unit trust with some of my colleagues and we started that business and I was there for 10 years and then worked in the RMB international business , which is now Momentum Wealth International , and then joined one of my clients who was an independent financial planner and I spent seven years with her and she

really was my mentor and taught me a lot of what I know about financial planning . And then I've been in the industry now well , financial planning for 22 years , so quite a long time . It's gone by really really quickly , always on the independent side .

I know when you introduced me you mentioned independence , but yeah , 21 years has gone by in the blink of an eye and I think I've definitely found my calling . I love being able to help clients and I also love the fact that every day is a different day .

We work with different challenges , different clients , different problems and hopefully make a difference in their lives and are able to , you know , change their futures . So I think it's a very rewarding profession to be in .

It's one of the most serving professions that anyone could be in from that point of view and obviously I mean there's other things that are probably more serving than this but what an incredible place to be in . And I'm sort of quite keen to ask you this question , right ?

So I love business , I love entrepreneurship , I love doing my own thing , I love building my own thing . But I want to ask you , like , what made you decide to build your own financial planning firm versus ?

You know , I know that independence is obviously very important to you , but why did you not join another independent firm that was already running and just build a practice there ?

But if you look at the definition of independence , if you have any product providers in your group , then you're actually not independent .

We had some changes in our office a new managing director , in fact a group CEO and the strategic direction of the business was changing and I didn't feel comfortable with that and actually chatted to quite a lot of businesses about joining them and my concern always was that at the time you join these companies , they always promise you that you're going to get

exactly what you ask for and then down the line , you find yourself being pushed in a direction that you don't feel comfortable with and after chatting to five or six businesses , I just thought I don't want to keep having to move , I want to have a home and I want to be in that home and stay there for a very long time .

And that was really the start of Integral Wealth , knowing that we wouldn't have any pressure down the line to do things that didn't keep us 100% independent . I've always said I wanted to be a corporate person . I've been a single mom to two children and my favorite day of the month was payday , so corporate was really where I saw my future .

But I think , in terms of certainty around the things that were important to me , I ended up going into a path of starting my own business . It has been challenging . I think everyone who's in their own businesses knows you have all sorts of . You become a jack of all trades . You have to do a little bit of everything .

Budget is always an issue and dealing with a range of different product providers also brings its own challenges , especially when it comes to servicing existing clients . So I can't say it's been the easiest path , especially running a smaller business .

But being the master of your own destiny I think does have a lot of benefits and I do like the fact that I can , hand on heart , say to my clients I'm doing my level best for you and we constantly be able to assess and analyze new products and new funds that are coming onto the market and we have no restrictions around what we can give advice on which is

critical for me .

So , like you , moving from , I'm not going to be in Corbyn , I'm going to do my own thing , which is completely opposite to what you thought you were going to do , which is completely opposite to what you thought you were going to do , and I think that's the beauty of life in general .

But one of the things often that I see you know it's like and , laura , I don't know you that well , but what I've gathered from what I've seen and the discussions and things that we've had and things we've been involved in , is that you know there's a couple of things that's very important to you . One is continuous learning . You always keep on top of it .

I mean , we had some interesting discussions where you made some interesting comments around technology in your business and things and I was like , wow , okay , this is really , really cool .

So it's about staying on top of things , but more than that . What I'm picking up from you , it's like , like it's very important for you to be involved in the profession as a whole , not just as a player of the game , but also of somebody that helps shape the future of the profession .

So I'm keen to learn from you , like why is that important for you , and how important is it for all of us to also get involved in the future of the profession and really being involved with things like committees and initiatives and things like that , and really being involved with things like committees and initiatives and things like that .

If we can support the FBI and drive the FBI in the directions that we feel are important as planners , the FBI looks after our professional and ethical standards , but they don't do the work that we do on a daily basis .

We are on the ground and we see people every day and , through the FPI , works with and has connections with throughout government but also into other bodies like the FPI and other industry bodies in different financial areas .

So if we can raise the issues that we are facing , I think we have a great opportunity to make sure that , especially regulatory-wise , that the direction is sound and logical . And what I think has been amazing about the FSCA in South Africa is that they haven't rushed to bring in RDR . They haven't rushed to bring in consumer duty , which is our COFI Act .

Now , everything that is being done in South Africa is done in a very considered approach to make sure that we don't have the adverse consequences that we've seen in the UK and in Australia , where , for example , independent financial advisors have just disappeared overnight because it's become impossible for them to meet the hectic regulatory requirements .

So if we get involved , we have the chance to shape our future , and I think getting involved doesn't only mean giving . It actually means you receive as well , because it means that you are closer to what is happening at that coalface with these various bodies . So it's a win-win situation .

I've also met some amazing people from other companies other financial planners , people in corporates , and you get to have interactions and conversations that you don't have , especially if you're , you know , operating in your own little microcosm .

So I've always found it very rewarding and I've met some incredible people that I'm close to , you know , even though I'm not with working with them anymore yeah , I so agree with you on that .

But it is important to note that you know , when you become a member of something , that you , that you actually participate in , that you engage , and that you you don't only take , you also give , give . Just paying a membership fee doesn't mean you've given . There's more to that and there's so much that you can contribute . I think that's really what it's about .

I'm also sort of keen to I mean , you mentioned earlier that independence is very important to you and all of that so keen to ask you , laura , what is your definition of independence ? And also then , why is it so important for you in the way that you conduct your business ?

And I've questioned it a lot , especially through a recent challenge that I've been through , and I haven't been able to answer the question yet . Maybe it's just habits and it's because it's the way I've always defined what I do .

I think there are various stages of independence . So we are sort of right on the one end of the spectrum where we have contracts with , I think , 28 different companies and when clients come to see us , we are able to take on business , that is , with just about anyone . So we don't have to move the business to a platform that we have a contract with .

We can look after them wherever they are . And that's been one of the big things , especially with the traditional life company products , the products with lock-ins and penalties if you do Section 14 transfers or make any changes to the portfolios or make them paid up . Covid was a good example .

We had clients who had no work and they had life policies and big RA premiums going off their bank accounts and no income and we had to now look at their portfolios and see how we could help them .

And you know , it was really a case of kicking someone when they were down because it was bad enough that they didn't have any revenue , but now they were getting penalized on their pensions and penalized on their life cover when they tried to make changes . So it just reiterates for me the importance of being able to offer a whole of market .

I mentioned there's a spectrum of independence . It is tough being an independent financial planner . You don't get the service from the call centers that the tired companies do . Service from the call centers that the tired companies do , they really don't like to look after you because you're not giving them new business .

So a lot of planners are , you know , remaining independent but choosing to work with one or two administrators to limit that . Well , it's not just the hassle of working with all the different companies , it's the fact that you need to be accredited on all the products every year .

There's a lot of time and effort that goes into all of those relationships , staying up to date with their products as they change , etc . So I think , along that spectrum of independence , yeah , everyone will find their own space , and independence isn't going to be for everyone .

For a lot of people , it really does make sense to be tired , I think , and just to be honest about the fact that you are tired . I've also met a lot of clients who have believed that the person who's been giving them advice was independent .

And then I find that everything is with one institution and in that institution's funds as well , and then they realize that , although the person doesn't say that they work for a specific company , it's an independent brand , but the brand is not actually an independent financial planning business .

So I think it's just about transparency and finding what works for you as an advisor and then being clear with that , with your clients .

And if clients are clear , are you being transparent about that ? You know there is no right or wrong , because for every single type of advisor , if you will , there is a client looking for that kind of service and that kind of proposition .

But it is what's important to you , what you value , and how do you put yourself out there and are you then transparent about that ? Or are you , you know , sort of presenting one thing but actually being doing another ? Because I believe I don't know what you think , but but I believe it all comes down to behavior .

It's not so much am I a CFP , am I not a CFP ? Because you can be a CFP but behave very differently from what a CFP would be expected to , to behave like so so that's definitely , you know , something that that I've been thinking about quite a lot over recent months does . I don't know if you have any comments on that before I continue .

But I always say that we are a profession and if you want to be a professional person , then your professionalism is something that you can't switch on on a Monday morning at five o'clock and switch off on a Friday at five o'clock .

Your professionalism has to extend across who you are as a person and that integrity if you , you know , have it has to be consistent across everything you do . So , as you say , the qualification alone doesn't make you you know .

And so , as you say the qualification alone doesn't make you , you know , a CFP , say that you're doing the right thing just because you have the CFP and there are a lot of non-CFP then we have to walk the talk ourselves . We have to . We can't be honest and open and have integrity at work and then behave differently on the weekend .

So who we are as a person is absolutely critical . That there's that consistency across everything we do . Yeah .

There's whether it's technology or just information overload , or you know , people leaving south africa , moving overseas , uh , new regulations coming in all over the show , not just in south africa , everywhere else .

How do you stay up to date , laura , and how do you ensure that you're able to , to still advise those clients ? And you know , because sure I don't know , it sometimes feels to me like everything happens at once , so so how do you go about staying abreast of things and and making sure that you can , you can help your clients ?

In our business , we have four planners , including myself , so that does help in terms of us being able to all attend different events and , you know , learn different things . And then we have a weekly meeting when we share what we have found interesting over the past week . But I do think that that's where the importance of our networks comes into play .

And you mentioned clients moving offshore . I know we've all had a lot of people moving offshore and they've got pensions in South Africa that we still look after offshore and they've got pensions in South Africa that we still look after . We're not authorized to advise them on what they're doing with their offshore pensions , etc .

We can still advise them on the assets that are left behind in South Africa , but it creates a whole lot of new challenges because clearly we don't always understand the tax consequences and the legal products , cetera , that are available in the different jurisdictions those clients are now living in .

And I think the most important thing for us is to make sure we know what we don't know . The scariest part for me is the things we don't know , that we don't know , because that's when we can think we can give advice on something and we actually don't realize that there's a whole lot of information we don't have at our fingertips .

If our clients aren't the one leaving and going overseas , a lot of them have got children who've left and that clearly has impact , you know , on succession and on inheritance , especially local assets versus offshore assets , trusts , etc .

So understanding and keeping up to date with all of that legislation is really important and , once again , I think being involved in the FPI committees and , you know , constantly upskilling is very helpful in terms of being on top of all of that . I also believe I mentioned networks very briefly , but you know , propulsion is a perfect example .

We're not competitors . We are all in the same profession and if there's one thing I've learned from winning the FBI Financial Planner of the Year , we are the most incredible bunch of people . The warmth , the support , the encouragement and the congratulations that I've received from many , many , many financial advisors I do not know has been so overwhelming .

It's probably been the biggest highlight of winning this award , the recognition and the acknowledgement , and we all have the ability to work together and to help each other , and there is more than enough business around for everyone . We are not competitors .

We are a community of people that are here to help each other and I think having those networks and understanding each other's different strengths and building on that is a great way for us to all be better planners and give better advice .

Do you have a process , or is it a case of oh , I still need 15 points . Where can I get it the easiest ? Like what's your approach to CPD specifically , or just not even CPD , just deciding what kind of events or webinars or things that you attain to help you with your continuous learning ?

So it's terrible , but every time there's an invitation , I look through it carefully because I know that , even if it's something I know and I understand look through it carefully because I know that , even if it's something I know and I understand , every time I attend a webinar or seminar I do pick up one or two things and sometimes it's even from the people

you chat to when you're there that are new and different and make me think in a different way . So I can't really say I'm truly selective . I think my selectivity just comes around how much time there is in the diary . Post-covid , we have the benefit of all these webinars and that's made a huge difference .

You know , when you had to drive and park and do the teas and everything else , it was a big time commitment , but now there is so much that we can do online and a lot of the . I find that the content delivery that we are getting is so incredible A lot of short , sharp , sound bursts of information . We don't have speakers talking for two hours anymore .

Most speakers are on the screen for 10 , 15 , 20 minutes and you get the abridged summary version . So there's so much good stuff out there . Clearly , because of contracts with 28 different companies , we get invited to a lot of events . So , yeah , we will usually try in the business to make sure that someone attends as many of them as possible .

But I do do a lot of CPD . I've probably logged my hours in the first quarter of every year .

I find it quick and easy to do and when you can do it from your desk , if it's a half a day event and there's something that you're not really interested in , you can zone out a little bit on that talk and then zone back in for the ones that are more interesting . So I do a lot of , a lot of webinars .

Another thing I just want to step sort of back to and maybe onto you also mentioned that you've got quite a few youngsters in your business as well , and also I have this thing that I've been thinking about now for a long time it's going on getting closer to a year since November last year about how many fantastic young people we're getting that already completed

their qualification . We're getting that already completed their qualification . You know they they looking to enter the profession . They want to do that . They come in and then , lo and behold , a year , two , three years later they gone .

And yeah , what is your approach to mentorship and maybe just your thoughts in general around how do we help youngsters , when they come into the profession , be able to stay in the profession ?

I don't want to get into why they don't stay , like I mean , we will get to that , but for me it's more important like what do you think we could do , maybe to be better mentors to them and to create an environment where they can actually thrive instead of stress themselves out of the profession ?

The first two ladies joined us in COVID and they are currently writing their final University of the Free State exams November this year and hopefully doing their boards early next year . And then the third intern that we appointed has actually done her post-grad diploma in financial planning .

She just needs to write the board , but she's only been with us for a year and a half now . So they've joined us in their permanent roles as administrators and the process has been to really , I think , first teaching the basics around the administration side , but more and more now to get them involved in the financial planning side .

We as a company all have one advisor and one administrator working on each client and we've split the clients across all four administrators , so each of the four advisors has clients with all four administrators . So it means that if someone is away it doesn't matter , someone else can step in and help .

But we are encouraging the admin team to know the clients and now to actually sit in on the client meetings , and I'm getting them to do more and more of the writing of reports and drafting of responses to emails et cetera . And I check all of those things . But I am amazed to see how responsive and receptive they are to the learning .

Also , when they are doing a reply to an email , if there's something that I can see they don't understand , we have Monday is always my office day .

I have a whole session where we do training and we will talk about , for example , the various different types of trusts and why people will use a trust and the difference between a testamentary trust , a special trust , etc . And then we'll just have like a little 20-30 minute session .

So I think every single week they go home with new learnings and things that they haven't picked up through the post-grad diploma in financial planning . And you know , I said right at the beginning , one of the things I love about what we do is that every day is different .

A lot of what we do is it's using our common sense and applying what we've learned through , firstly the formal learning in our qualifications , but also the learning that we've had from our clients through the years . So older financial planners will generally have a lot more experience than younger financial planners and I try and share as much of that as possible .

The problem for us , of course , is that at the moment I think they will happy and I think they're going to stay with us , but you never really know , and we know that the big corporates come in and make them amazing offers , especially after they've got their CFPs .

So that is a journey we will still go through in the next year or two , but my intention is to try and make sure that the work environment is so stimulating and so growth-filled that they will want to stay .

We've also now made two of them reps on our license and they are starting to advise their own clients , their own network of friends and family and people that they are meeting .

I'm very happy to have more shareholders in our business and to make sure that they can see a future for themselves in our business Because from a succession planning point of view , I actually see them looking after my clients one day .

My clients love the people they work with in our business and that's such a credit to them and what they bring to the table . I see Tracy has just asked me how long it took to set up our practice . The setting up was always quite quick .

We've been going for eight years but I think because I've been doing this for 22 years , it's quicker and easier each time you put all the compliance et cetera into a new business . So it didn't take us long to be up and running maybe six months .

But every year is different in your own business and you know you go down all sorts of rabbit holes and rabbit warrens and paths . It's been interesting . Thanks , francois .

Um , so yeah , it's been been an incredible ride . Um , laura is becoming closer to the end . Um , I just maybe want to ask you also I wanted to delve a little bit more into your business . You did touch on quite a few things . Now that you do in the business , I'm quite keen , just maybe . What do you feel is the core core part of your business matter ?

What other bells and whistles and fantastic uh , you know offers you have and your , your amazing value proposition ? What do you feel is the core core bit in your business that makes everything else work , um , and that you wouldn't be able to do without ?

So I think culture would be my answer to the question , because you know , going back to what I said about professionalism , if your culture is a culture of care , then the starting place for care has to be with your staff .

And if you can have that culture of care in your business where you recognize that the people that work with you are also mothers , wives , husbands , sportsmen they have a range of different aspects to their personality . Our business needs to embrace that .

So while clients always have to come first , our staff need to know that if they have to take a child to a doctor , or Michael my colleague is doing the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii later this year for the second time he's been invited .

That obviously involves a significant commitment , but people need to know that their personal lives are a big part of who they are and that that is recognized in our business .

So if our culture can be a culture of care , then I think it's very easy to pass that culture of care onto our clients in the way we extend what we do through to all aspects of running the business .

Laura , I'm pretty sure it's okay if people want to connect with you and also follow you on LinkedIn . Is there anywhere else ? If you think like the audience is financial advisors and planners , you know anything else you would like to share with them ?

So my LinkedIn will be disappointing , but my intentions around being better on LinkedIn are good and I will get there . Francois , just to say thank you so much to you for inviting me and thanks to everyone who's here listening to me . It really is amazing to be here .

I really admire what you are doing and the community that you are building , francois , and I think it's such a critical part of the connections that we all need in our lives . So thank you so much .

Frank shared that the true taste of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching . John Wooden , mentor and friend to John C Maxwell , said that . And then Frank also said I love the approach of developing people from administration through to becoming professionals , professional financial planners , and this established such a good foundation .

Uh , thank you very much , laura . Uh , fantastic , righty

. So anyway , ladies and gentlemen , that's a wrap for today's episode . Uh , thank you very much for joining us . We'll be back next week , uh , with another fantastic episode , really looking forward to another good one , and , uh , until then , stay safe , be blessed and prosper , enjoy your weekend and continue to praise the Lord . Love you , bye , bye .

All right , folks , that's a wrap for this episode of propulsion . I hope you got as much out of this as I did remember to tune in every friday at 8am , south african time , for our live show called propulsion live . You can find it at wwwpropulsioncoza forward slash live and , trust me , you don't want to miss it .

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