Carrick Wealth launches ‘pioneering’ programme for advisers
Cape Town-based Carrick Wealth yesterday announced the launch of its Departure Enrichment Agreement (DEA), a programme that it believes will benefit the wider financial services sector.
Carrick Wealth’s CEO Craig Featherby (pictured) said the company was constantly looking for innovative ways of attracting and retaining the best people in the business. In addition, he said Carrick wanted to raise the benchmark for the industry in general by setting employment standards and offerings that were mutually beneficial to the employer and the employee — and ultimately the client.
“As a company we recognize excellence, but more importantly we identify the need to recognize and reward the very individuals who have assisted and will continue to assist the development of this business,” said Featherby.
Carrick Wealth managing director Greg Stockton said that one of the biggest challenges facing the sector was attracting top talent, and that remuneration structures were a crucial part of the solution. He pointed out that currently a lot of advisers relied on an upfront commission structure, which focused on the here-and-now, rather than their future income. The DEA creates an opportunity for our advisers to build an exit strategy so that, when they do eventually decide to “call time” (be that of the industry or Carrick), there is a lump sum payment and an annuity income for a period of time.
Stockton explained that the scheme lays out provisions in the terms and conditions of the adviser’s employment contract, which if met, would result in Carrick applying the DEA. It allows for more freedom of choice and, more importantly, having something of value in hand when they choose to exit.
“This is a first for the industry, and one which we are proud to be pioneering,” he said. “At Carrick, we are obsessed with thinking about the future. It’s what our clients expect of us. We also believe is important for potential employees to think about their future when it comes to making a decision to join our team.”
Featherby added that while Carrick believed that this offer would enhance its efforts in attracting the best people to the sector, the scheme was also in the best interest of the clients.
“Being able to recruit and retain the best advisers goes to the heart of our philosophy of building long-lasting and durable relationships with our clients,” he said. “We remain committed to changing the face of financial services, and the Board believes the Carrick Departure Enrichment Agreement is just one part of this on-going mission.”
