Produced By: Ensombl
Professionalism and ethics in financial advice go far beyond a polished veneer and the requisite technical knowledge. They manifest in the way an advice practice is structured, how advisors devote their time, and the manner in which teams collaborate to serve clients’ best interests. In a recent conversation between podcast host James Wrigley and Dean Holmes—co-founder of several wealth-related businesses, including Absolute Wealth Advisors and The Wealth Network—a wealth of insights emerged on how efficiency, capacity, and technology can transform financial advice into a truly professional and ethical service.
Below is an exploration of those ideas, focusing on the core theme that time spent with clients is precious, and that proper structuring of roles, delegation, and ethical alignment are essential for both the success of an advice business and the well-being of the clients it serves.
Dean Holmes describes himself as a serial entrepreneur with a “curse”: he invests in and coaches financial planning firms, while also maintaining an interest in Absolute Wealth Advisors, the practice he co-founded nearly two decades ago. This multi-faceted involvement mirrors the story of many financial advisors who wear multiple hats—advisor, business owner, marketing lead, compliance officer, and so on.
At first glance, it may appear that operating an advice practice while simultaneously running additional ventures could divert energy away from core client needs. The key lesson Holmes highlights is that a professional approach requires clear role definition. Advising clients at the highest standard should be the primary focus for those holding the “advisor” title, and everything else in the business—administration, paraplanning, marketing, compliance—should be delegated or managed by appropriately skilled professionals or outsourced teams.
Holmes practices what he preaches. He no longer holds an Authorized Representative status in his own business, stepping back from the direct day-to-day advice-giving so he can focus on broader operational improvements, efficiencies, and coaching others. The result: he is free to ensure Absolute Wealth Advisors remains a testing ground for innovation, efficiency, and ethical best practice—without being torn between that role and the hands-on requirements of advising a large client base.
Ethical Takeaway: By defining one’s professional role carefully, it becomes possible to serve clients ethically and without compromise. When an advisor is overloaded with tasks unrelated to direct client outcomes, they risk both burnout and a lowering of the overall quality of advice. Professionalism demands focusing on the unique functions only an advisor can do—client meetings, strategic thinking, and personalized advice—while entrusting administrative elements to capable teams.
Absolute Wealth Advisors, under Holmes’ continued oversight, reflects a business model that many aspiring practices can learn from. It is structured around four advisor “pods,” each consisting of a single advisor and a dedicated advisor-support specialist (often based remotely). Above these pods sits a Head of Advice Delivery, who manages workflow, ensures deadlines are met, and maintains compliance standards.
Such a layout ensures that each advisor can direct most of their energy to the advisory function—meeting with clients, understanding their needs, and devising appropriate strategies. Meanwhile, the administrative tasks, from preparing meeting documents to processing applications and other crucial follow-ups, fall to personnel specifically suited to these tasks.
Efficiency is Ethical
Why does efficiency matter from a professional and ethical standpoint? Because clients rely on their advisors to be fully present and engaged when delivering financial recommendations. Administrative backlog and scattered processes not only waste time, but can also lead to errors, delays in execution, and ultimately subpar outcomes for clients. Under an ethical lens, advisors should strive to deliver consistent, high-quality service. Proper business structures, with well-defined roles and a rational hierarchy of accountability, serve to support these outcomes.
A recurring industry narrative is that there is a significant shortage of financial advisors. Holmes, however, challenges this assumption. He suggests that it is impossible to prove a genuine shortage until every existing advisor is operating at full capacity. If advisors in aggregate are not hitting what could be considered their full meeting or client-service potential, it might be more accurate to claim there is a “utilization” problem rather than a “headcount” problem.
Rather than clamoring for new entrants, Holmes proposes that the more urgent solution to meeting client demand is to improve the efficiency of existing advisors. If each advisor can handle more clients—through robust delegation, proper support teams, well-configured technology, and standardization of processes—then the industry can serve more Australians (and others) without adding significantly to the advisor headcount.
From an Ethical Perspective
Accessibility and affordability of advice are ethical imperatives. If an advice practice is operating inefficiently, it may need to raise fees just to maintain profitability, thus locking out lower- or even middle-tier clients. Conversely, more efficient practices can potentially lower fees or invest resources in technology and superior client experiences. By streamlining processes, financial planners not only stay true to professional standards but also expand the market for advice, helping more people achieve financial security.
Holmes employs a vivid analogy to clarify the advisor’s unique role: the obstetrician who “catches the baby.” Obstetricians do not handle paperwork or manage hospital rosters; their specialized skill is unique, and the hospital structure surrounds them with resources to ensure they focus exclusively on their medical specialty. Similarly, the one task that no one else can do for a financial advisor is the client meeting—being present, asking questions, interpreting the client’s situation, and formulating advice.
Everything else—preparing Statements of Advice (SoAs), updating client files, even certain fact-find tasks—can be delegated to individuals with the right skills, whether they are in-house or in a remote location. Thus, Holmes urges a sharp distinction between:
The Ethical and Professional Dividend
When advisors spend most of their time on meetings and strategic thinking, they can provide the depth of service clients deserve. Advisors also stay cognitively fresher, better able to remain abreast of legislative changes, and more attuned to client concerns. They are not mired in tasks “below” their pay grade or expertise. This pivot optimizes an advisor’s skill set in a way that any reputable professional (doctor, lawyer, engineer) would consider the norm. Quality, timeliness, and compliance of advice all naturally improve when advisors focus on what only they can do.
In the quest for more efficient service delivery, technology is a powerful ally—when applied judiciously. Holmes sees technology playing multiple vital roles:
Maintaining Professionalism and Ethics with Tech
In adopting technology, compliance, client privacy, and data security must remain top priorities. Recording a meeting or using AI to summarize it raises questions of consent and confidentiality. Proper disclaimers, secure storage, and encryption methods keep the practice in line with professional ethics. Clients should feel assured that while technology aids in delivering advice, it does not replace the advisor’s accountability or confidentiality obligations.
A common pitfall among small advice practices is delaying the hiring of support staff until the business reaches a certain revenue milestone. The logic might be: “I’ll do it all myself until I can afford to pay an assistant.” Holmes critiques this approach, arguing that if you wait too long to hire, you could trap yourself in an endless cycle of administrative tasks, limiting your growth from the outset.
Instead, launching a new practice with at least one support person—often a skilled virtual assistant—is an investment that pays for itself by freeing the advisor’s time to meet more clients and deliver high-level service. As soon as the business can justify it, layering in additional roles (client service specialists, paraplanners, etc.) helps the advisor maintain the “catch the baby” focus. This approach, while requiring an upfront capital outlay, aligns with how other regulated professionals (doctors, dentists, lawyers) typically structure their practices right from the start.
Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Hiring
Alongside efficiency, there is an ethical dimension to hiring support staff. With better support, advisors can remain well within compliance obligations and swiftly adapt to new regulations—thus safeguarding client interests. Moreover, ensuring that each team member is competent, properly trained, and understands the firm’s professional and ethical standards helps maintain consistent quality throughout the client experience.
One of the more powerful illustrations Holmes uses is the comparison to a hospital shift change. In hospitals, new doctors gather at a patient’s bedside to receive a direct handover from the departing doctor, ensuring that crucial details are not lost. In a financial advice setting, a similarly transparent handover process can strengthen trust. Holmes suggests a strategy wherein, near the end of each client meeting, a support staff member or second advisor joins. Together, they recap the discussion, confirm action items, and, in full view of the client, seamlessly transition any follow-up tasks.
Client Perception and Professional Trust
When clients witness an explicit handover, they see a structured, highly professional approach. They also see that their advisor values collaboration, accuracy, and continuity. This fosters trust, a vital component of ethical advice. Without a systematic handover, tasks risk falling through the cracks, leading to delayed service or omissions in advice—potentially harming the client. Ensuring robust continuity of advice is not merely a matter of operational efficiency; it reflects deeply on the advisory practice’s professional and ethical commitments.
Advisors often cite client face-time as their passion, yet they inadvertently spend much of their time on tasks that do not require their expertise. Holmes invites advisors to measure their work more simply: How many client meetings per week are you holding? This number is a tangible, immediate measure of how effectively you are delegating non-advisor tasks.
In an ideal scenario, an advisor might manage up to 20 or 30 hour-long meetings per week, especially in larger businesses structured to handle all the associated administrative tasks. At 30 meetings per week over 40 working weeks in a year, one advisor could conduct up to 1,200 meetings per year. Even if that figure is aspirational, it underscores that typical capacity far exceeds what many advisors currently manage.
Ethical Ramifications
Seeing more clients doesn’t simply generate more revenue. It means more individuals and families can be guided toward financial security. This scenario embodies the ethical imperative of serving the broader community’s financial well-being. Of course, it also demands that the quality of advice remain consistently high. This is where robust business structures, technology, and carefully enforced professional standards come in.
When a practice grows from a handful of clients to hundreds, maintaining professional and ethical standards can become more challenging. New staff must be hired and trained. Processes must be standardized and rigorously documented so that the client experience remains consistent. At the same time, advisors must not lose sight of their duty to act in the best interests of each client, which includes thorough research, candid disclosure of fees, and competent strategic recommendations.
Revenue Per Advisor vs. Number of Advisors
Holmes repeatedly illustrates that growth and professionalism can be achieved by ensuring each advisor is fully “maxed out” on client meetings before ever considering adding a second or third advisor. A practice generating $1.2 million in annual revenue with one advisor is likely more profitable, has a clearer workflow, and can invest more back into technology and resources than two advisors each generating $600,000. Higher efficiency and profitability support robust compliance regimes, ongoing staff training, and improved client outcomes—clearly valuable from an ethical standpoint.
In many cases, it’s only once a single advisor has reached a point of near-full utilization that bringing in a second advisor makes sense. Otherwise, the firm splits revenue across multiple salaries without achieving the scale necessary to support advanced systems, strong compliance, or the specialized talent that underpins an ethical practice.
Holmes and Wrigley delve into how artificial intelligence can make the “debrief” process more efficient and powerful. For instance, after a client meeting is transcribed, the text can be fed into AI to generate:
Data Privacy and Informed Consent
While AI offers remarkable benefits, it introduces new questions around data handling and informed consent. Advisors must ensure that clients understand how their data may be processed and secured, and that they have taken precautions to protect sensitive information. Regulatory bodies in many jurisdictions are watching AI developments closely, so it is incumbent upon any professional to maintain the highest level of data security and privacy.
Nonetheless, used properly, AI can help advisors refine their service delivery. Over time, these tools will become more accurate, further reducing the administrative burden and enabling an advisor to focus on building relationships, understanding life goals, and formulating advice that truly meets each client’s individual needs.
Throughout their conversation, Wrigley and Holmes return to a central theme: that ethical conduct in financial advice isn’t just about compliance checklists or disclaimers in lengthy documents. True professionalism lies in a commitment to best serve the client’s interest—and the best way to do so is often by building an efficient, well-supported practice structure. Advisors who remain mired in administrative tasks or who are under-resourced may struggle to deliver a high level of consistent service.
In practical terms, this means:
When these points are adhered to, an advice business can flourish, serving a larger client base without diluting the quality or ethics of its advice.
The conversation between James Wrigley and Dean Holmes illuminates the path toward a more professional, ethical, and efficient model of financial advice. Central to Holmes’ philosophy is the idea that most of an advisor’s time should be devoted to engaging with clients, uncovering their goals, and delivering well-considered strategies. Achieving this requires careful delegation, a willingness to invest in support staff from day one, and the savvy application of technology.
This modern framework is an ethical imperative as much as an operational choice. Advisors who spend less time wrestling with administration and more time in client meetings can potentially reach hundreds more people, elevating financial literacy and helping more families achieve security and prosperity. In an environment where too many Australians remain underserved by professional advice, the model championed by Dean Holmes is worth serious consideration.
Key Ethical and Professional Principles to Embrace:
Stepping back, this approach is simply the application of professionalism: to always put clients at the center, to run an organization that fosters trust, and to protect the advisor’s most valuable capacity—expert insight—by removing distractions and burdensome tasks. That is how a practice moves from merely meeting regulatory thresholds to embodying the spirit of professional and ethical financial advice.
By consciously designing a practice around these principles, the financial advice profession can further elevate its standing, demonstrating not only its compliance with regulations, but also its unwavering commitment to client welfare. In the end, the synergy of proper structures, dedicated teams, and thoughtful technology will yield the highest standard of service—a hallmark of genuine professionalism and ethical excellence.
Accreditation Points Allocation:
0.10 Technical Competence
0.10 Client Care and Practice
0.20 Professionalism and Ethics
0.40 Total CPD Points