Striver Podcast
by Alisdair Barr
Join Alisdair Barr, CEO and Founder of Striver to break down the best practices, timely topics and creative solutions to business problems in Financial Advice. Are you an Adviser, Practice Manager, Product Provider or Client? Hear from subject-matter experts from across the industry and beyond to hear how they STRIVE for the answers.
Episodes
-
Scaling Advice Without Losing the Human Touch
What does the future of financial advice look like? Mark Akeroyd from UniSuper joins Alisdair Barr to discuss AI in advice, lessons from the U.S. wealth industry, and how advisers can deliver better, more personalised experiences while scaling advice to more Australians.
-
135: Talent Attraction for Early-Career Professionals
What makes a firm a place where young professionals genuinely want to join? Alisdair and Whitney explore the "vibe," the expectations, and the make-or-break moments in the hiring journey—and how simple communication can transform the whole experience.
-
134: Making Advice More Accessible through the Stella Network
In this episode of the Striver Podcast, I sit down with Julia Newbold – founder of the Stella Network – to discuss how financial advice can reach more Australians and reflect the clients it serves. We cover practical ways advisers and firms can service clients across every demographic, the…
more -
133: Solving the Advice Gap
How do we make quality financial advice accessible to more Australians? In our latest Striver Podcast, we sit down with Rachel White from Vanguard to explore both local and global solutions — from fresh industry approaches to international innovations — that could help solve this urgent challenge.
-
132: New Class of Advisors
Introducing the 'New Class of Advisors' that promises to enhance accessibility to financial advice amid upcoming legislative changes. I speak to Ben Marshan from Marshan Consulting about the impact of new legislative proposals, including the introduction of a "new class of advisor" and how this...
-
131: The Customer Service Handshake
I asked Sharyn Baker, Head of Service and Operations at BT, "What does successful customer 'service' mean to you?" In Sharon's words, it means providing predictable, consistent and reliable service to both your internal and external customers. Hear how success is measured and how optimisation is...
-
130: The 7 Megatrends set to transform advice by 2030
Iress, in collaboration with Deloitte Access Economics, has launched a landmark report on the future of financial advice in Australia. Hear from Marcus Field, Head of Growth and Partnerships at Iress as we unpack the seven megatrends set to usher in a new era of opportunity for advice and…
more -
129: Is the Human Brain just a huge piece of software?
We often think about efficiency in business to be focused around process and software but what about individual effectiveness. My chat with Vanessa Bennett highlighted some ways to find 25% more effectiveness and at the same time manage burn out. I really enjoyed this chat....
-
128: Believing in your CVP can add big % growth
Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. How do you get on the bandwagon to get results? Looking at current processes and easy wins is sometimes the best way to get on the efficiency wagon (or a bus, which is generally faster!). I spoke with Conrad Travers from Tangelo Advice Consulting, who has...
-
127: What Does Crypto and Social Apps Tell Us?
Phone call first, instant gratification and keeping it simple. This is what we expect from most experiences in our lives. But our attention spans are getting shorter and our digital habits are changing so how will that shape the next generation of apps? Speaking with Peter Worn from the Finura...
-
126: Nudge Don't Judge: How AdviceTech Can Understand Context
The beauty of technology is that it can be data-driven at every decision point. How can this apply to the very personable advice industry? I speak to Paul Feeney, Founder and CEO at Otivo, to tick off items from the wish-list of every at-capacity adviser.
-
125: Crafting Your Business Brand for Success
In an evolving landscape, brand is crucial at every phase of your business lifecycle. In this thought-provoking episode, Joshua Grace, Customer Office Group Executive at Colonial First State, explores how a robust and distinctive brand can help you attract your ideal clients, establish the right...
-
124: Super Fund's Game-Changing Advice Strategy
How will financial advice from a Super Fund change the game? To answer this question, Alisdair talks to Renae Anderson, Select Advice Manager, about UniSuper's 3-year strategy to increase their adviser talent pipeline, deliver advice to members moving into retirement and making advice more...
-
123: Have your cake and eat it too when it comes to client segmentation
Segmentation is vital for advice practices, impacting financials, cost-to-serve, and fee consistency. How are top firms managing segment identification and potential client off-boarding? Jackie Clark, National Education Manager at Colonial First State, joins us again to provide practical tips for...
-
122: The Magic 8-ball to survey your clients
Are client surveys a more powerful tool than we realise? This week, we unpack the full potential of a humble client survey. What's the best approach to them - ad hoc, formal, or a combination? With Jackie Clark, National Manager Education at Colonial First State, we reveal how surveys can fuel...
-
121: Is the genie really out of the bottle?
Now that generative AI has been released into the world, how do we (re)define ethics and privacy? ChatGPT and similar apps continue to dominate the headlines as its application widens. For educators and universities, it redefines the definition of plagiarism. For professional services, it creates…
more -
120: If finding new clients isn't the key to growing your business, then what is?
This week, I spoke to Jackie Clark, National Education Manager at Colonial First State on the KEY metrics to evaluate if your business has the capacity to grow or grind to a halt if new clients come along. Find out what she has seen from businesses that have found success, and how you can do the...
-
119: Chat GPT has already changed our world so what's next?
ChatGPT, an app with 57 million users as of January 2023, is a hot-topic on everyone's lips. It has changed the way we view education, entertainment and work. We love playing with it at Striver but what will it mean in our business? Our everyday lives? I spoke to our good friend Dr. Magali...
-
118: What are other businesses doing?
Can you articulate your purpose simply and does it flow through to your systems and process in your business and then ultimately to your team and clients? The landscape looking promising with client opportunities, and we believe the employment market will become easier, we speak to Andy Marshall...
-
117: Bigger than your mortgage and more important for your kids
More often than not, education is one of the biggest costs for your client if they have children or grandchildren. Imagine - the return on investment from all those Birthday and Christmas gifts invested into their education rather than filling up the toy box...
-
116: Artificial Intelligence and a very practical example....
That is definitely one of my favorite conversations! Magali share this 100% AI generated podcast with me a couple of weeks ago and I have not stopped thinking about it https://open.spotify.com/episode/28IaUZqRpjeoHHepqgG12U?si=jx9al-BCR4CiBVcaE3F3cg Magali has a PHD in Artificial intelligence and...
-
115: Talent - Like fighting with one hand tied behind your back
We are having the same conversation multiple times a day with clients who are struggling to find great talent for their firms but there are some simple ways to improve your chances. We speak with Scott Bunny about the talent war cycles and how we can significantly improve the success in this…
more -
114: Can improving relationships attract more clients/staff?
Does a technology-enabled firm create better relationships with clients and staff? We speak to Angus Woods from Adviser Ratings who are investing heavily in the future of advice and believe that relationships are the key, I hope you enjoy.....
-
113: The advice boom is coming
With recent global events, the demand for assurance and confidence through financial advice has spiked simultaneously as the number of accountants and financial planners decline. Given the talent pipeline is dwindling for these professions, I discuss with Paul Barrett, Chief Executive Officer at...
-
112: The transferable skills that transform professions
Growing any profession with the next generation of talent has always taken a significant investment - both in the people themselves and as a collective profession. What are transferable skills that your profession needs? How can we identify these skills in this next generation? Is there a formula...
-
111: How was the UX?
We judge all the services and products that we use not always by how good they are but by how they stack up to the benchmark expectations we have in all aspects of our lives, think online shopping, social media, doctors appointments and in-branch banking! Discussing a tech-focused approach to UX...
-
110: Why You Need To Become The Hybrid Adviser
Accessibility to advice becomes a global issue along with the talent shortage in the local advice market (and more broadly within professional services) so do you leverage technology to lift the burden? By adopting a hybrid advice and service model. Hybrid models are proving to be an efficient...
-
109: Salary is arbitrary so what are you competing on?
Imagine - you invest in hiring and training the best candidate, then they leave in 2 or 3 years time, lured by the promise of an arbitrary higher salary. So what now? It's always great to speak with Nick Sinclair from TOA, especially when we are entering the largest global resource shortage in...
-
108: Cut the BS and tell us your story
The graduate talent market is about to enter its hottest season ever! Firms are touting 6 figure salaries, relocation allowances, massive superannuation payments and sign-on bonuses. What?! Yes, you read correctly - sign-on bonuses! But is this all smoke and mirrors? And can you and your firm...
-
107: Where am I?
I had a fun and frank chat with Yolanda Bettie about team dynamics, diverse perspectives and professional intimacy, yeah that's right !! And it all means more now than ever especially within high-performing teams that are growing, I know you will like this podcast...
-
106: What we won't be rolling back
We'd all love a crystal ball. Who wouldn't want to see into the future? I had a great chat with Craig Keary, CEO, Asia/Pacific at Ignition Advice to discuss some key themes around technology and its role in talent acquisition, alongside the key trends that we think will unfold in 2022. There have...
-
105: Success not Stress, channelling your holiday vibe
We love this time of year but it can be overwhelming but you are almost there! We spoke to our good friend Sue Viskovic from Elixir Consulting about chilling out with a bucket of prawns over this festive season and coming in back in 2022 with a clear plan for success. Enjoy....
-
104: The Great Acquisition
With the great resignation comes the other side of the coin which will be the great acquisition! Investing time in the team, building a learning culture, aligning purpose and meaning, what can you do to make sure you are on the right side of this equation, all this and more in this great chat…
more -
103: Mental Roadmap into Silly Season
Silly season is upon us again! Although in a different format to past years, it's still important to plan your lead up to, during and post Christmas and New Year break. I took time out of the usual conversation to join Justin Noble to speak about forming a realistic and practical roadmap to…
more -
102: The Best Before The Rest
Spending time with the smartest graduates before they enter the job search phase of their degree, is one of the best ways to secure the best talent in a talent-tight market. New entrants can be super productive contributors to a high-performing team so we spoke to Victoria Widjaja, current…
more -
101: Duck the office let's start online
We wanted to hear firsthand from an intern's experience in starting their first career job remotely, not having met their hiring manager or anyone else in the team. What the drivers are, how they stay motivated, and how through technology they contribute to a high-performing culture, Shevaun…
more -
100: When Milestones are Moments to Market
This is our 100th episode of this podcast! With this being a significant milestone that also coincides with our recent 2nd birthday as Striver, we thought we would pick the brains of marketing guru, Rose Princi from Colonial First State. Let's explore innovative ways that you can use to celebrate...
-
What Education Needs for Tomorrow
Making education more accessible is one of our core beliefs here at Striver. But to take a practical look at the distribution of education, the cost of it will not go down any time soon. Today we spoke with Damian Otto from Futurity Investment Group about ways to make education more accessible…
more -
Be Your Client's Conversation Hero
Technology has evolved beyond an enabler, since we are all using it more now than ever before. But let's take a step back to understand how it can be used to design the User Experience (UX) in your practice to deliver a delightful experience. I spoke to Mark Akeroyd from MLC Advice about creating…
more -
Growing Pains in Growing Businesses
Creating your ideal role is a dream that can be hard to make a reality in a growing professional services firm. The more you grow the more you are dragged away from the things you love. I sat down with Rayna from Real Business Matters to discuss how outsourcing the General Management of a firm...
-
Going for Olympic Gold in Achieving Financial Well-being
It's very exciting to speak with Craig Keary, CEO of Asia/Pac for Ignition Advice, on how advice can be made more accessible to more Australians. How to measure the positive impact and identify the lead indicators of impactful advice. Plus shout-outs to great contributors to the profession and a...
-
Diaries of a Mixologist
With demand for new talent increasing and the supply decreasing, we create a perfect storm. That is what is happening across all cohorts of talent in Australia and there are several reasons why this is happening. We continue the necessary conversation of meeting future talent 'where they are' to...
-
Meeting Them Where They Are
The labour market is set to get even tighter. We have seen the talent pool shrink by up to 80%. So what does that mean? And how can you buckle the trend? Flexibility is king! Those who can meet in the middle will win this talent war. I had a great chat with Whitney Wilson, Strivers Head of...
-
The Advise Landscape 'Under the Hood'
The year that has been uncovered some exciting opportunities for both young professionals and professional services more broadly. Always great speaking with Angus Woods from the Adviser Ratings and in this episode we uncover the 2021 Advice Landscape Report - diving under the hood to see the data...
-
Impacting Your Community?
Super excited to record the first in-person podcast for some time! With our wonderful guest Vy Pham, we discuss community involvement, DE&I and some very unique communications learnings. As always - some inspiring gold nuggets of insight to take away so I hope you enjoy...
-
Ethics Is A Doing Word
This is my favourite podcast to date… I sat down with Cris Parker, Head of the Ethics Alliance and Director of the Banking and Finance Oath, to explore the practical application of Ethics and Trust. Plus the interrelated relationship between the notions from within an organisation - believe me it...
-
Blogging the blogger
Content marketing can be overwhelming but it can be made simple and I was keen to chat with Campbell Phillips from MYOB about some ways to make sure you can get your value and tone of voice out to the people who you want to speak too, this was a fun chat....
-
The hairdressers manual
I really enjoyed catching up with Racheal Ooi to discuss successfully growing award winning staff and how to use technology with a tireless focus on making your client feel important and delivering supreme customer service is a recipe for success, this was a great chat....
-
Does Gen Z really want the corner office next week?
Hiring university grads - be it Millennials or Gen Z - normally comes with a standard flurry of questions. 'How patient are they?' 'How long will they stay?' 'Will they be loyal?' We took it upon ourselves to ask the hard questions and address the 'Elephant in the Room' with our very own rockstar...
-
Turning Great Candidates into Classics
Attracting, Engaging and Retaining great talent into forward thinking firms has been Striver's mantra since we started 8 years ago so when we find great tools to help firms really support their team to be the best they can and deliver high quality results we love to chat about it. This chat with...
About this show
Join Alisdair Barr, CEO and Founder of Striver to break down the best practices, timely topics and creative solutions to business problems in Financial Advice. Are you an Adviser, Practice Manager, Product Provider or Client? Hear from subject-matter experts from across the industry and beyond to hear how they STRIVE for the answers.
Hosted by
Alisdair Barr