Smart clients the key for Smart Private Wealth.

*Article provided by Count Financial: https://www.count.com.au/article/smart-clients-the-key-for-smart-private-wealth

For Shannon Smit and the team at Smart Private Wealth, providing a service centred around client education is one of their most important objectives. It is viewed as their defining point of difference.

“That’s our why – to put people in a position to make better financial choices and make a real difference to their lives.”

The Mornington-based accounting and advisory firm has been part of the Count Financial network since 2019, and in that time forged a strong reputation for their client-centric approach. They aim to empower their clients by imparting as much valuable information as possible, through direct conversations, e-books, workshops and webinars.

“The webinars serve a double purpose. They give us the opportunity to educate, but also the opportunity to expand our client base. We now have clients all over Australia because they’ve been able to attend one of our webinars to get a better understanding of how we can help them.”

Smit, who is CEO and Founding Director at Smart Private Wealth, says this educational approach is as a key differentiator for their business.

“Providing our clients with knowledge is important. It’s our job to assess their circumstances and make recommendations, but at the end of the day they’re the ones who need to make decisions. It’s our responsibility to instil that confidence in them. It’s easy for them to simply say ‘I trust you’, but the smarter we can make the client, the more empowered they become. Our smartest, most informed clients are the ones whose financial portfolios are performing best.”

According to Smit, generating client trust is also a critical step in the advisory process. It opens up honest conversations about where the client is placed and what they want to achieve.

“Trust is huge in any professional services relationship. Clients need to know that the advice is coming from someone that wholly understands their situation and can work with them to achieve success. We pride ourselves on building that foundation from the first interactions we have because we genuinely care about our clients and want them all to do well.”

That client-centric mindset has paid off, with Smit and the Smart Private Wealth team taking out a number of recent award wins, including Goals Based Adviser of the Year and Marketing Consultant of the Year at the 2021 IFA Awards, along with the Financial Adviser of the Year at the 2021 Women in Finance Awards. They were also voted as Count Financial’s New Member Firm of the Year 2019 and Innovator Of The Year 2021. It has given them the reputation as the most awarded team on the Mornington Peninsula.

“The award wins are wonderful. We don’t take them for granted and they certainly help to recognise the hard work of the entire team. They’re also a valuable marketing tool for our business because they send a powerful message to the community that we have the expertise, experience and can be trusted," Smit concluded.