Integro builds on independence

Integro Private Financial Consulting is a financial planning firm founded on the core principle of complete independence.

Current managing principal Justin Gilmour established the Subiaco-based firm in 2006.

It has expanded at a time when the financial planning industry has come to be increasingly dominated by players aligned to the big banks and major superannuation groups.

Integro’s independence means the firm can offer completely unbiased advice.

The firm also ensures there is complete transparency, with its fees structure explained upfront and no hidden costs.

A notable point of difference is Integro’s investment approach.

Rather than using managed funds provided by a third party, Integro constructs client portfolios using directly invested equities.

This allows a more active approach to investing, rather than the ‘set-and-forget’ approach used by some other firms.

To support this approach, the firm employed a specialist investment manager last year.

Integro has focused on improving its internal processes and systems, to ensure the firm is able to efficiently sustain its growth.

This strategy recognises that the ad hoc and personalised processes used by a firm with just a few people can be ineffective chaos when head count expands.

That has certainly been the case at Integro, where staff numbers have more than doubled over the past few years to 18.

To address this challenge, key staff have mapped out workflows and looked for efficiencies.

The streamlined workflows have been mapped to specialist software that allocates tasks and activities to the appropriate staff.

The focus on efficiency also led to a strategic decision 18 months ago to outsource most of the firm’s administration and clerical work.

This provided the business with scalability and allowed the in-house staff to focus on looking after clients.

Integro partners with accounting firms to obtain client referrals, and has built on these relationships to make them more like a joint venture.

Its partnership with each accounting firm is mapped out and documented, with a business plan, a marketing and activity plan, and an implementation plan.

The activity plan includes introducing the partner to other financial services firms, to create a hub of services for their clients.

Integro also encourages interaction between the client, the referrer and their adviser, to strengthen the relationships and ensure the client does not feel they are being ‘referred away’.

The group’s aim is to establish a national presence, and is building a platform from which it can launch the next stages of its growth strategy.