Produced By: Ensombl
In a rapidly evolving financial services landscape, few attributes are more critical than uncompromising ethics and steadfast professionalism. Advisors the world over wrestle with the challenge of maintaining a client-centric focus while dealing with increasing regulatory complexities and fast-moving technology. In a recent podcast conversation, host James Wrigley sat down with Tim Townsend—co-founder of Townsend Cabaine Private Wealth Partners—to explore the central pillars of running a bespoke financial advisory practice. Spanning topics from building strong client relationships to fee transparency, technology adoption, and the art of balancing growth with client care, Townsend’s insights underscore the importance of ethics-driven business models that keep clients’ best interests front and center.
What follows is an in-depth article that distills the essence of that conversation, offering a guide for professionals in the financial services industry who seek to combine high-touch client relationships with the rigor and integrity that modern advice demands. This article weaves together Townsend’s practical experiences, gleaned over decades of service, with reflections on how emerging advisors can position themselves ethically and professionally in a dynamic market.
Tim Townsend’s advisory journey with his partner, Rod Cabaine, began over a decade ago. From the outset, their enterprise was shaped by a mission: to deliver “a personalized service in an increasingly depersonalized world.” This vision materialized in Townsend Cabaine Private Wealth Partners, a firm that today oversees more than AUD 360 million across approximately 160 clients. Rather than just chasing scale, the founders have curated a practice that prizes depth of relationship over breadth, determinedly serving clients who value ongoing guidance and meticulous care.
In many industries, technology is hailed as the panacea to expand one’s reach. Yet Townsend’s philosophy is to blend technology with conscientious human interaction, ensuring that efficiency never supplants the personal touch. If building relationships requires time and resources, the firm invests accordingly. As Townsend remarked during the conversation, “Personalized service costs money to deliver, so you’ve got to keep that ratio right.” Striking that balance has been vital: they keep client numbers intentionally capped so every family, individual, or institution receives undivided attention.
This clarity of purpose is rooted in a commitment to professionalism—a trait evident in how Townsend and Cabaine have structured fees, engagements, and ongoing reviews. They see clients as more than case files; these are people entrusting them with life savings and generational wealth. To preserve that trust, Townsend believes, an advisory firm must be transparent, genuinely accessible, and ethically grounded.
In the world of financial planning, “know your client” is a regulatory standard. For Townsend and his team, however, “knowing the client” transcends regulatory checkboxes. It is about memorizing life stories, understanding nuanced family dynamics, and tailoring advice to reflect each client’s deeply-held values.
“When clients come into the office,” Townsend notes, “we already know their background—there’s never a sense of rummaging through a file to remember who they are.” This personal familiarity is a hallmark of their service model. It requires devoting considerable time to each client—often beyond the once-a-year review that has become the industry norm.
To make this approach feasible, the firm has a near 1-to-60 advisor-to-client ratio, ensuring that each advisor has a manageable book of relationships. Clients receive frequent, proactive communication, and at least one in-person meeting per year (in many cases, two). Townsend points out the importance of face-to-face interaction: “While virtual meetings are convenient, there’s a different energy and openness when people travel to the office, settle into an in-person discussion, and devote undivided attention to their finances.”
Younger advisors seeking to emulate this approach must accept a trade-off: high-touch service costs more and requires more deliberate training in soft skills. For example, Townsend often role-plays essential conversations with new hires, reinforcing techniques for reading body language, asking open-ended questions, and helping clients navigate emotional discussions—whether about estate planning or major life transitions.
Fees in the financial advice world can be a sensitive subject. Townsend stands as an unflinching advocate of full transparency, believing that clients should see exactly what they pay for and why. Describing the firm’s annual fee threshold of AUD 10,000, Townsend underscores that clients must be both financially positioned to invest in the relationship and comfortable with that clear cost of entry.
By being upfront from the very beginning, the firm avoids misunderstandings down the road. Townsend also offers flexible pathways for those clients “within striking distance” of that threshold, working with them to align their assets and cash flow in a way that ultimately meets the firm’s service minimum. He laments strategies he has seen elsewhere, in which certain businesses use managed accounts or product-based solutions to obscure fees. To Townsend, such tactics violate the principle of fiduciary duty. There should be no hidden charges—just clarity, honesty, and confidence in the value delivered.
Professionalism in financial advice, Townsend insists, begins with the courage to speak plainly about costs. “If you want to charge extra,” he says, “just articulate it in an advice fee. Put it in front of your client. If they see the value, they’ll pay.”
For many firms, growth is a double-edged sword. In the pursuit of increased revenue, some advisors find themselves unable to maintain the same intimate service that led them to success in the first place. Townsend recognized this challenge when the firm neared its capacity a few years back.
Faced with a choice—cap the number of clients or invest in additional advisory talent—the partners opted for sustainable expansion. They engaged business and branding consultants to streamline their operations. They introduced new technology to automate repetitive tasks and free up time for deeper client interactions. They also hired experienced advisors to join their team, aligning them with the firm’s principles of ethics, transparency, and genuine care.
Yet Townsend and Cabaine did not simply hire new people and hand them a giant client list. Their explicit strategy is to have each client relationship shared by two advisors. Over time, the newer advisor becomes the primary point of contact, with one of the principals offering oversight and insight as needed. This dual-advisor model ensures that the client remains well-supported, even if one advisor is unavailable. But it also provides a clear runway for mentoring. The senior advisors can gradually impart the nuances they have learned over 30-plus years in the industry, thereby fast-tracking the development of the next generation.
This approach to growth resonates with Townsend’s mantra: “We either stay where we were and do what we did yesterday over and over again, or we build structured systems that let us preserve our values as we bring new advisors on board.”
While Townsend’s business prides itself on personalized service, that does not mean it shuns technology. On the contrary, the firm leverages an array of digital tools to enhance efficiency. From robust customer relationship management (CRM) systems that track progress, to Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven software that can record, transcribe, and highlight key actions from client meetings, new technology offers ways to expedite manual processes.
Townsend shares that the firm has recently begun using AI meeting notes solutions, which cost around AUD 130 per month per advisor. This technology captures a meeting in real time and generates summaries categorized by topic—whether estate planning, investment strategy, or retirement projections. Advisors can then tailor those summaries into well-structured, precise advice documents.
The caveat: Townsend is adamant that technology should complement, rather than replace, human insight. The goal is to free up time for more genuine communication and complex problem-solving, not to automate relationships. In alignment with ethical standards, any AI-generated content is reviewed and validated before it goes to clients, ensuring correctness and compliance with professional obligations.
One of the most profound themes in Townsend’s practice—and an ethical requirement for true fiduciary relationships—is behavioral coaching. Financial markets ebb and flow, sometimes dramatically, and the greatest challenge is often not the investment selection itself but sustaining a client’s confidence when volatility strikes.
Townsend uses an evocative image: “We’re nothing more than glorified roller coaster attendants. The hardest part is keeping clients seated for the entire ride.” When markets soar, it can be tempting to overextend; when they plummet, the impulse is to sell. Effective advisors remind clients that downturns are inevitable. Preparing them psychologically to ride out short-term turbulence is as essential as picking the right investment strategy.
This educational process, Townsend believes, starts well before any turbulence hits. In routine reviews, he forthrightly tells clients: “I guarantee that at some point, we’ll be looking at your portfolio when it’s 20% off its peak. That’s an inevitable part of investing. Let’s not act surprised when it happens.” Such candor is integral to client trust. It also cements the advisor’s role as a guide—a professional with the expertise and ethical responsibility to counsel against making decisions fueled by panic or emotion.
Another area where professionalism meets ethics is in investment design. For years, many in the industry have defaulted to an approach that lumps clients into “conservative,” “balanced,” or “growth” buckets. While Townsend acknowledges this is convenient, he found it lacked true customization—especially for higher net-worth clients with more complex situations.
Townsend Cabaine Private Wealth Partners takes a more nuanced approach through managed accounts. Rather than deploying multiple model portfolios, they use a combination of just two: one that is predominantly defensive, aimed at preserving capital; and one that is primarily growth-oriented. They then tailor the balance between these two components to each client’s particular risk tolerance, life stage, and overall goals.
The logic is straightforward: real client conversations typically center on how to allocate between defensive and growth strategies, not the nitty-gritty details of which individual share or fund manager might outperform. By simplifying the structure—while retaining flexibility in underlying assets—Townsend can engage clients at a higher strategic level, which is generally where they want guidance and need reassurance during uncertain times.
Still, Townsend underscores that the responsibility for these investment decisions remains with the advisors—and they retain final voting authority in an internal investment committee. The firm does employ an external consultant for specialized input, but Townsend is a firm believer that you cannot ethically outsource your entire investment solution. “Clients pay us to be on top of their portfolio. If we’re too far removed from the actual engine, we’ll blink at the worst possible time. And that’s precisely when clients need confidence the most.”
A natural outgrowth of the firm’s client engagement is an emphasis on intergenerational wealth planning. When Townsend and Cabaine delve deeply into estate planning, they gain intimate insight into family dynamics. Clients may reveal which children they deem most responsible, or which philanthropic causes they feel strongly about. This level of knowledge, in turn, informs strategies such as gifting assets to children while still alive, philanthropic funding, or establishing trusts that protect future inheritances.
As Townsend notes, “If you’ve got more money than you’re ever going to spend, why wait to see how it benefits the next generation?” By walking families through these decisions and illustrating various options, the firm fosters not only a financial legacy but also an emotional one. Ethical considerations abound: how much is too much to give children early? How should you reconcile the desire for fairness with the unique needs of each child? The advisor’s role is to clarify trade-offs and help families make informed decisions that reflect personal values, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all formula.
For seasoned professionals like Townsend, part of practicing ethically is sharing hard-earned experience with newcomers. He recalls spending years fine-tuning his approach through trial and error, whether it was honing an elevator pitch on fees, mastering conflict resolution with anxious clients, or perfecting the art of estate planning dialogue. Now, he views it as a duty to accelerate the trajectory of younger advisors: “My job is to get them 20 years ahead of where I was at their age.”
Hence the firm’s structured mentorship framework. Senior advisors co-lead initial client meetings, switching between “lead” and “color commentary,” so junior advisors learn how to take control of a meeting, present analysis, and field client questions on the fly. They practice everything—down to standing up at the right moments for emphasis. It is not merely about knowledge transfer; it’s about instilling the confidence and presence that clients expect from someone entrusted with their financial futures.
A notable aspect of Townsend’s journey is the willingness to invest in business consultancy. Rather than resting on decades of experience, he and his partner brought in outside experts to challenge assumptions, refine processes, and hold the team accountable. This underscores one of the most important traits of ethical business leaders: openness to external critique.
During the interview, Townsend reflected that a key benefit of external consultants is that they serve as an “uncomfortable friend,” pushing the leadership team to analyze bottlenecks, revisit workflows, and measure performance metrics rigorously. The focus is not just on the big-picture mission of delivering personalized service but also on the day-to-day systems that make that mission viable in the long run.
By methodically reviewing the client review process, data-gathering protocols, and marketing strategies, Townsend Cabaine Private Wealth Partners strengthened their foundation to support future growth. This ensures they remain competitive without compromising the bedrock principles that have long defined the firm’s identity.
For those who are just stepping into the advisory space, Townsend’s reflections offer several practical lessons:
Eleven years in, Townsend’s firm has evolved from a two-person venture to a multi-advisor practice approaching half a billion dollars in assets. The years ahead promise further transformation, influenced by macroeconomic shifts, increased regulatory scrutiny, and ongoing technological change. Townsend appears energized by these prospects, partly because the firm’s foundation—rooted in ethical service—remains strong.
As Townsend looks to the next decade, he anticipates focusing on succession planning and exploring ways to continue refining the intergenerational wealth conversation. A new wave of technology, from more advanced AI to data-driven portfolio analytics, will likely create additional efficiencies. But at its core, the practice will remain grounded in the belief that “professional service” is not a buzzword but a daily responsibility to each client who walks through the door (or logs into a virtual meeting).
While Townsend’s approach resonates strongly with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth segments, the principles he espouses—integrity, personalized attention, and transparency—apply equally to advisors serving the broader population. The tension between maintaining a personal touch and reaching more people with lower-cost offerings is a genuine industry-wide challenge.
Still, Townsend underscores that no single firm can cater to everyone. The requirement for genuine person-to-person connection, in his view, sets a limit on how many families an advisor can ethically and effectively serve. Online-only financial planning platforms, robo-advisors, and automated solutions may bridge the advice gap for lower-asset segments, but there will always be clients—especially those with intricate financial circumstances—who seek the specialized, high-touch approach Townsend Cabaine Private Wealth Partners is known for.
From a professionalism and ethics standpoint, both models can coexist ethically, provided each is transparent about fees, services, and the limitations of its advice. The industry, Townsend suggests, needs an honest reckoning with these differences instead of pushing one-size-fits-all solutions. The real measure of professional ethics is whether clients, given their needs and resources, are receiving advice that is truly in their best interest.
Tim Townsend’s story is that of a seasoned advisor who has integrated deep relationships, fee transparency, and a commitment to ethical practice into every facet of his business. It is a model forged by years of listening to clients, learning from mentors, and navigating market cycles. However, it is also a model that looks toward the future—embracing technology, training up the next generation of advisors, and recognizing the importance of passing wealth and knowledge across family lines.
For industry professionals, Townsend’s insights underscore that building a successful advisory practice is about far more than scaling assets. It is about forging a compact of trust with clients—rooted in professional judgment and unwavering honesty. In today’s depersonalized world, where automation increasingly reigns, those who offer a “personalized service in an increasingly depersonalized world” will likely stand out. Townsend Cabaine Private Wealth Partners serves as a testament to that philosophy.
Yes, it demands a willingness to invest in deeper client relationships, to structure fees reflectively, and to say “no” to prospects who are not a strong fit. But the payoff is a thriving business where clients do not feel like line items—one where they stay the course during downturns and celebrate the wins collectively. Ultimately, professionalism and ethics are the bedrock of this enterprise; every decision, from staffing to technology adoption, reflects a core conviction: the best client outcomes arise from honest, long-term partnerships.
In an era where consumer trust in financial services can be fragile, Townsend’s example offers hope. By placing ethics and professionalism at the center of their business model, advisors can build lasting relationships that weather market storms. They can offer clients something invaluable—peace of mind—while also nurturing meaningful careers that drive both personal satisfaction and industry-wide respect. For those committed to this path, Tim Townsend’s journey is more than an anecdote—it is a guiding light.
Accreditation Points Allocation:
0.10 Technical Competence
0.10 Client Care and Practice
0.10 Regulatory Compliance and Consumer Protection
0.10 Professionalism and Ethics
0.40 Total CPD Points