What you should know about DFS Advisory Services:
Established in 2003, DFS Advisory Services has focused on providing fee-for-service advisory solutions to private clients, which stems from our Deloitte origins. Our Advisors specialise in holistic planning advice and outsource non-core services to external specialists, which includes estate planning; accounting; finance; and insurance. Our service proposition is a financial concierge service and is the central hub of our client engagement.
Discouraged by the retail research model, DFS developed its own investment research capabilities, the cost of which continues to be absorbed internally. In this regard, DFS receives no payments from fund managers it researches and is free of influences that arise from conflicted research models. After the GFC we started to develop a risk-based asset allocation framework, the objective of which is to keep portfolio risk pegged to specified risk tolerance levels rather than allowing it to fluctuate, unchecked. It aligns with how investors think about risk and is sensitive to their behavioural preferences. To provide greater transparency, DFS Advisory Services decided to create a separate division in 2009 and established DFS Portfolio Solutions Pty Ltd (DFSPS). The role of DFSPS is to attend to all investment research and portfolio related matters and to focus on investment performance. DFS Advisory specifically focuses on strategy and client servicing. While the 2 divisions are synchronised, they each perform distinct duties and are therefore distinctively priced. The unbundled fee structure creates transparency and forces our advisors to account to clients under each service arrangement.
Our current platforms are Investment Administration Services (managedaccount.com) and HUB24 (Super). All DFS clients are invested in the DFS models using either the MDA/SMA offerings. DFS is an early adopter of managed accounts functionality (since 2009) which is key to implementing our dynamic risk management approach.
Patricia Chan is the Managing Partner of DFS Advisory and is responsible for the operational facets of the business and also has some client interfacing responsibilities.
Steve Romic heads a dedicated team of investment professionals at DFSPS while retaining limited client interfacing responsibilities.
Our current priorities :
- DFSPS has recently made its portfolio services available to external IFAs and now runs asset class models and multi-sector models across several platforms. Marketing is a key focus at the moment for this division.
- Keeping abreast of development in the technology space for enhanced functionality.
Attendees:
Patricia Chan, Managing Principal
Stephen Romic, Managing Director & Investment Committee Member
Website: