Welcome to Shartru Wealth Management. Changing licensee is a big decision and so the following document is designed to help answer some key questions that you may be thinking about.
XPlan
It is compulsory to use XPlan and is subject to our policy & procedure on Document Retention.
Shartru Wealth Management has built the back-office systems around XPlan. Besides acting as the Customer Relationship Model (CRM), it also is the system for commissions (important for FDS and Opt-In) and automation of documents such as SOA etc. The base cost of Xplan for one adviser is included in your license fees.
The ability to access other systems other than XPlan is only possible if the proposed system has an approved and applicable Plugin API with Xplan. Management approval is required for this as Shartru Wealth Management has an obligation under a recent ASIC Class order to have full access to all relevant documentation.
Shartru can assist with the transfer of any documentation from another software provider to XPlan.
Adviser will be charged for a basic CRM (Client Focus) licence. If you require more than one client focus for additional staff or advisers, or would like to use multiple modules we simply pass on the module charges from Xplan. We give you the option to hire the modules by the day or by the month.
To migrate from your current provider to our Xplan, Xplan will charge you a fee which is quoted to you directly from Xplan.
Yes, our XPlan is automated to allow you to generate these documents for your clients.
Think Caddie is our education/CPD provider.
For the first adviser in your practice or if you are a sole adviser you receive the Think Caddie access included in your license fees. If you require more than one Think Caddie registration for advisers, we simply pass on the monthly charges from Think Caddie. There is a process for validating external CPD which is located in the adviser intranet.
We also do in-house training which is CPD accredited as part of your ongoing training.
You can view our CPD policy HERE
Shartru has an adviser portal & drive access for an adviser to access.
For the first adviser in your practice or if you are a sole adviser you receive the intranet & drive access included in your license fees. If you require more than one log in for additional staff or advisers, we simply pass on the charges from google.
No, Shartru is a boutique AFSL with no ties to any particular product provider. Shartru does operate an internal MDA however it is not compulsory for advisers to use it.
Shartru’s APL houses a wide variety of products across all asset classes, in addition to model portfolios, most insurance providers and Shartru’s managed discretionary account. We currently have two industry funds on the APL.
Shartru’s APL is created with a Best of Breed approach. We don’t want hundreds of products on the APL as we review the APL regularly. We are open to looking at new and innovative solutions for clients.
No. You are required to provide advice that is in the client’s best interests, however all products must be on the APL.
Shartru has an Investment Committee which meets at least monthly to discuss the APL and make any required changes. The Investment Committee is available to you to discuss the products on the APL. Members of the Investment Committee have between 25 – 40+ years investing and financial services experience.
Shartru has a process which an adviser must follow to have a non-APL product/provider approved. This process is outlined in the adviser intranet. Turn around times depend on the level of information you supply to support your request and the urgency.
Shartru provides research for all funds within the model portfolios or MDA therefore there is no need for you to access research separately. This can be found within the adviser intranet. If you want research in addition to that, such as through Lonsec or Morningstar, you are free to use whatever you like at your own expense.
Ensuring our advisers remain compliant, Shartru has in-house audits completed throughout the year. All authorised representatives providing advice receive up to 3 file audits at any time. In addition to in-house audits, Shartru uses an external auditor at least once per year.
Shartru has a performance management policy.
Upon joining Shartru you will be issued with a Shartru FSG which is put together for you by compliance. You will need to notify your existing clients that you have joined Shartru, you can supply your FSG to them at this point.
Shartru is required to keep your FSG on file and any changes made to the FSG following version 1 will be issued by compliance.
Shartru requires you to use our SoA template. It is automated in XPlan or you can use the word template we supply you.
Whilst the template SoA is provided you need to ensure you are personalising the document appropriately for the client.
When you first join Shartru, you will be required to undergo pre-vetting until such time as compliance is satisfied. Turnaround of prevet SoA’s is usually 3 business days.
Upon joining Shartru, you do not need to issue a new SoA to each client. This is only required when you provide financial product advice to a client for the first time under the Shartru license.
Shartru’s file audits provide a Satisfactory, Development Required and Significant Concerns result. You will receive communication from the compliance team as to what needs to be done in regards to your files. You are required to follow Shartru’s policies and procedures in regard to your client’s file requirements.
Remediation is carried out by the compliance manager with yourself. All correspondence is documented.
Yes, you have a compliance manager and team to assist you if you have any compliance related questions which can be accessed by direct email or through the adviser intranet.
Shartru provides you a number of resources which you can use to ensure your file standards are as required such as file checklists or various types and policy & procedures, all which can be accessed in our adviser intranet.
Shartru provides regular compliance updates which outline any industry and policy & procedure changes directly to advisers, all of which are saved into the adviser intranet to be accessed by you as needed.
If there is an urgent update additional correspondence will be sent out directly from the team and to the network.
Depending on the circumstances around the PI claim, you may still be able to join Shartru. We take the details of your claim to our insurers and they provide guidance to the compliance team. The more information you provide, the better.
We don’t believe in reinventing the wheel, so the bulk of external training will be done through Think Caddie Online. The Compliance team will work with the adviser to prepare a Training Plan to ensure the appropriate subjects are targeted.
Our internal training that is Compulsory to undertake has CPD allocated and can be used in the yearly CPD required hours
Should we see a need to do further training on a matter that we are seeing through audits or a changing environment, we will work with you via coaching and /or conduct a webinar.
We allow you to charge any mechanism allowed under the applicable law.
Shartru Wealth Management is not attached to any institution.
We are product provider indifferent and will assess each product on its merits and compare it to the universe that it operates in. When it comes to the administration of wrap accounts and superannuation products, we have no reason to decline an adviser from using any ‘known’ provider. While we acknowledge there are benefits of having scale with a few, we will leave this decision primarily to the adviser.
We have in place a Managed Discretionary Account that charges a performance fee rather than a high base fee to align our interests with our advisers and their clients.
This is the biggest concern we had with rolling out the AFSL and we spent a lot of time learning from other AFSL’s experiences to put together a play book that will minimise the chance of repeating the same mistakes.
The first rule in extending our AFSL cover to an adviser, is that they must be a cultural fit. This encapsulates a whole range of things but if there is any discrepancy with this aspect we will decline to commence a relationship as the underlying values of the advisers need to be the same as us for the relationship to work. We have no interest in becoming the biggest, we just want to be the best we can for those whose advice model fits ours.
We have policies and procedures in place that provide our advisers with clear guidelines on what advice they can give without having to raise the issue with compliance. Compliance is based on law and we apply a common-sense approach from the clients’ perspective. If there is a reason the adviser wants to go outside these guidelines, this will be referred to Compliance who will work with the adviser to ensure the appropriate matters are addressed in the provision of that advice. Guidelines include areas such as gearing and margin lending, direct property, portfolio composition and Self Managed Superannuation.
Our Investment Committee is highly qualified and experienced, and is in charge of the APL which includes direct equities, direct bonds and a range of managed funds. We have in place a documented process for the APL, and advisers can request for a product’s inclusion. The investment Committee however takes the view that an APL must be continually reviewed so we therefore wish to maintain a narrower APL rather than a broader one. When new investments are requested for inclusion we will compare factors such as cost and styles with other alternatives in the market. The idea is we will have a ‘best of breed’ APL.
At Shartru, we innovate with purpose, constantly seeking to identify new paths to assist our investors. In one such example, we pioneered fractional property investment in Australia for our investors.
We have a negative view generally of tax-effective investments and are wary of certain structured products. For such products to make our APL, they would need to be a very compelling offer and there will be guidelines built around how they will be applied to clients.
Adviser fees are taken out each month. You have the option of being invoiced directly or have them taken from commissions.
Shartru has a commission run each week which is paid on a Thursday. Depending on your bank, they can often show in your account on the Friday.
Yes. You can contact the commissions team via a direct email or through the adviser intranet.
Shartru Wealth charges a flat fee for the advisers that access our AFSL at $31,000 per annum (excl GST)
Shartru Wealth does provide additional ‘on-demand’ services which come at additional cost and which Shartru Wealth Management may have a financial interest in. Examples include Paraplanning Services, Accounting and SMSF Service, and the Managed Discretionary Account.
You are free to brand your business as you desire. However, to meet regulatory requirements you will need to identify your relationship with Shartru Wealth Management on such things like your website and FSG. We’ll show you how.
Yes, the adviser services team is your first inquiry port of call via phone or email; however, in all divisions there are people you can call when you need assistance.
You can also contact the relevant areas through your adviser intranet or the Shartru Website.
Shartru holds a national or international conference every 18 months. We also hold any necessary training by way of a webinar via our Intranet on a regular basis. These are CPD accredited towards your ongoing training.
We also undertake road shows around the network visiting capital cities that include one-on-one meetings with the CEO and dinner events for advisers in the area.
You receive an induction training program when you first join Shartru and this can be completed by yourself as well as any additional staff you have. This induction training is located within the adviser intranet.
Shartru holds a conference every 18 months, or there about and are held over 2 days. Locations vary each conference. You are welcome to attend with your whole team. There is no registration fee for attending however you are required to pay for any required flights or accommodation for any of your attendees.
The adviser intranet has everything you need in regard to Shartru and your business. It has all dealer group and compliance documents, the APL and associated research, events, previously held webinars, training and various other items that can assist you day to day. It is recommended that once on board, you spend a bit of time familiarising yourself with it and what it holds.
Shartru Wealth provides a comprehensive support system for financial advisers. The flat annual fee includes essential technology such as the XPlan CRM, our SWAN adviser portal, and Think Caddie for CPD management. Advisers receive practical compliance support, direct access to an experienced Investment Committee, and dedicated service teams.
For additional, tailored assistance, a suite of optional user-pays services is available, including professional. paraplanning, administration, specialised SMSF support, and marketing assistance.
When you initially look to join Shartru Wealth as a personal advice adviser, we require several key items from you to allow us to do our due diligence as an AFSL. Should you choose to proceed to the onboarding stage you will receive an official email requesting the following items: