Produced By: Ensombl
In the modern era of financial services, marketing is more than a business function; it is a bridge connecting advisors and clients. In a profession so steeped in compliance, fiduciary duty, and public trust, how can advisors, accountants, and mortgage brokers alike use marketing ethically and effectively? The following article draws on a conversation between host Patrick Gardner—Head of Technology at the professional services firm Collins SBA—and Clare Murphy, Director of the outsourced marketing firm Advant. Their insights provide a roadmap for how to craft meaningful, compliant, and engaging content. This article also highlights the professional and ethical considerations advisors should keep in mind when shaping their marketing strategies.
Before delving into the specifics of content marketing, it is crucial to understand the foundational pillars of professionalism and ethics in financial services. Advisors, accountants, and mortgage brokers are entrusted with sensitive client data, intimately tied to each client’s financial dreams and obligations. This high level of responsibility places a premium on the trust that professionals can foster or lose based on their marketing messages, content style, and approach to client communications.
Financial professionals operate within a complex regulatory environment. For example, an Australian financial services (AFS) license may impose strict guidelines on advertising, general advice, and promotional activities. This legal backdrop means that every interaction—from an email newsletter to a social media post—must be examined for compliance. As was mentioned in the original podcast disclaimers, it is essential to remember:
Clare Murphy, reflecting on Advant’s approach, underlined the importance of balancing informative content with disclaimers. It is never enough to push out engaging marketing pieces if they fall short of legal or ethical standards. Advisors must remain the “voice of reason,” not simply add to the noise.
In financial services, authenticity is a currency. When prospective clients see messages on social media or receive an email communication, they must quickly perceive the advisor’s genuineness. Marketing that feels more like a conversation than a sales pitch can boost engagement and foster trust.
Moreover, ethical marketing is transparent marketing. It sets realistic expectations about the service offerings and areas of expertise. If the marketing language overpromises or offers quick-fix solutions to complicated financial concerns, the advisor risks undermining the very trust they have worked to build.
Clare Murphy’s background is firmly rooted in the world of professional communications. Hailing from a family business in printing and publishing, Clare was exposed early on to the power of effective content. Over time, she and her family moved into producing financial content, eventually acquiring Advant approximately a decade ago.
Today, Advant focuses on providing outsourced marketing solutions to financial advisors, accountants, and mortgage brokers. At the heart of Advant’s value proposition is its ability to help professionals maintain regular, relevant, and compliant communications with their clients—without the full burden falling on in-house staff or the principal advisor.
One key theme Clare stresses is that marketing should not be a headache for advisors. Many professionals are swamped with regulatory changes, client meetings, compliance updates, and practice administration. Marketing often slips down the priority list. Yet consistent client communication underscores the advisor’s dedication and knowledge. Advant’s aim is to make that easy, so practices can enjoy:
While Advant can fully manage a practice’s content marketing, the firm also offers Advant Plus, a platform that provides:
This dual model—fully outsourced versus partial “do-it-yourself” support—caters to practices large and small. Some financial advisors leverage pre-approved content as a time-saver and risk management strategy, others go further to add personal flair and brand voice.
The conversation shifted toward artificial intelligence (AI), which has captured global attention for its potential in generating or curating content. However, as with all emerging technologies, AI must be harnessed responsibly—particularly in a regulated industry.
While it might be tempting to “outsource it all to AI,” Clare Murphy advises caution. AI can help design marketing frameworks, edit newsletters, or deliver novel approaches to segmentation. Yet these tools are no replacement for the human advisory voice that ensures legal and ethical compliance.
Financial advisors must still review, vet, and humanize AI-generated content. The professional lens requires alignment with:
When used effectively, however, AI is an invaluable thought partner. For instance, it can comb through large data sets to facilitate client segmentation, shining a light on patterns such as the client’s stage in life, potential interest in retirement planning, or inclination toward alternative investments.
Clare highlighted two interesting uses of AI in her own life:
The message is clear: AI can be a tool to achieve efficiency, but the final decisions and oversight must remain in human hands to preserve quality, compliance, and ethical standards.
A major focus of Clare Murphy’s insights lies in using content marketing to foster genuine, long-term relationships. Marketing is a powerful means not only of prospecting new clients, but also of reminding existing clients of an advisor’s continuing expertise and care.
In an era where audiences are bombarded with spam-like emails and social media ads, relevance emerges as the key to engagement. To cut through the noise:
Proper segmentation isn’t just a marketing buzzword. It reflects genuine attentiveness to client needs, highlighting an advisor’s ethical responsibility to communicate responsibly. Sending content on retirement strategies to a client in their early 20s might miss the mark, while bombarding retirees with emails about family tax benefits might erode trust.
A simple but often overlooked strategy is to include personal or lifestyle content in your communications. Even accountants—whose work can be quite technical—often find that clients enjoy reading sports tips or restaurant reviews from the staff. Such personal touches deepen the relational bond and remind clients that their advisor is a relatable person, not just a “numbers expert.”
Ethically, this is sound practice: it does not mislead or distract clients from important financial updates, but rather gives depth to the relationship. Combining light-hearted lifestyle content with serious financial insights can strike an engaging balance.
An illustrative example is the story of Chris from Wealth Investors, who decided to go out on his own and establish a financial advisory practice. Facing all the pressures of a new business—compliance, marketing, building a client base—Chris turned to Advant for support.
For Chris, day-one marketing was essential. He needed:
By tapping into Advant’s content library, Chris avoided reinventing the wheel. He did not have to single-handedly draft 10 new articles on superannuation or the stock market. Instead, he took pre-existing, compliance-checked articles and customized them with personal notes and brand elements.
Over time, Chris expanded his marketing to include personal testimonials, case studies, and short notes about industry events he was attending. This personal layer reminded clients that while his marketing was professional, it was not impersonal.
The result: A robust, efficient marketing pipeline that lent immediate credibility to his new practice, upheld high ethical standards, and still gave Chris time to focus on client work rather than tinkering endlessly with marketing content.
Professionalism and ethics demand more than just dispatching a newsletter or social post; they require continuous improvement. For advisors to refine their marketing approach, they must measure and evaluate performance.
Ethically, this data analysis is most helpful when it is used to provide clients with more relevant information. Advisors should remain aware of privacy laws and ensure that any personal data gleaned through email platforms or website visits is protected and used judiciously.
Clare Murphy and Patrick Gardner discussed how professional services marketing will likely transform in the coming years. As generative AI matures, the industry will see more sophisticated client segmentation and the ability to personalize content like never before. However, the fundamentals of ethics and professionalism will remain constant:
Advant aims to broaden its capacity for building automated client journeys. From onboarding sequences that introduce a practice’s value proposition to ongoing “nurture campaigns” that keep leads warm, these efforts hinge on ensuring:
By combining best-in-class technology with an unwavering commitment to content quality, Advant’s future looks to be one in which ethical marketing is readily accessible to the financial professionals who need it most.
Bringing together the various strands of this discussion, below are some key takeaways for financial advisors, accountants, and mortgage brokers striving to uphold professionalism and ethics in their marketing.
Financial services professionals find themselves at a pivotal intersection of technology, regulation, and evolving client expectations. By leveraging compliant, high-quality content and consistently keeping clients’ best interests at the forefront, advisors can transform marketing from a “nice-to-have” into a powerful tool for building trust and enhancing financial literacy.
Clare Murphy’s experiences with Advant epitomize the synergy between professional standards and modern marketing techniques. Whether an advisor is brand new—like Chris from Wealth Investors—and needs a fully outsourced solution from day one, or a mature firm that prefers a hybrid approach, the priority remains the same: client well-being, honesty, and value.
At its heart, ethical marketing aligns with the broader fiduciary duty that financial service professionals owe to clients. It is a series of touchpoints that can comfort, educate, and inspire families, business owners, and retirees alike to pursue financial goals with clarity and confidence. By maintaining transparency, calibrating frequency, and bringing humanity into each communication, advisors set the stage for sustainable practice growth and deep-rooted client relationships.
For financial professionals eager to move forward, the starting line can be as simple as assessing current client communication. Are you sending periodic updates? Are those updates relevant? Do they reinforce the firm’s expertise without straying into unlicensed personal advice? If the answer to any of these questions is “no” or “not really,” the next best step may be partnering with a resource like Advant or taking a fresh look at an internal content strategy.
Ultimately, in the quest to bolster trust, credibility, and client satisfaction, content marketing stands as both a practical toolkit and a reflection of an advisor’s ethical duty to serve clients’ best interests. By weaving together professionalism, transparency, and genuine care, financial advisors can enhance both their business outcomes and their clients’ financial well-being.
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