A new era of wealth advisory partnerships 

Written by Warwick Wealth’s Director of Mergers & Advisory, Deon Myburgh, published in Blue Chip Digital on 16 July 2025.

As Independent Financial Advisors face mounting operational pressures and shrinking margins, Warwick Wealth introduces a model that redefines sustainability, succession, and success in the modern advisory landscape.

Deon Myburgh has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry at large national institutions.
Deon has been with Warwick for eight years and is exceptionally passionate about the financial industry. He holds tertiary qualifications in Financial Planning and Financial Markets. Deon joined Warwick as Regional Manager in Port Elizabeth and then relocated to Johannesburg. Deon is the Director of M&A for the Orion Wealth Managers group and aims to make it the largest Wealth management business in the country. He heads a team of 10 highly-skilled professionals. 

The financial services industry is undergoing a profound transformation. Historically, independent financial advisors (IFAs) operated under the 80/20 principle—devoting 80% of their time to client relationships and marketing, and only 20% to administrative and compliance responsibilities. Today, this balance has effectively reversed. Regulatory demands, operational complexities, and rising costs have significantly reduced the time that advisors can dedicate to client engagement, impacting both business growth and client service.

From an operational standpoint, running an independent practice has become increasingly challenging.

Regulatory frameworks such as FAIS, COFI, and RDR have added layers of complexity and cost. Maintaining a compliant and competitive practice now requires investment in professional indemnity insurance, CRM platforms, secure communication systems (including recorded lines and data backups), regular client reviews, and sophisticated financial needs analysis (FNA) tools. These are burdens that disproportionately strain smaller practices.

Another critical challenge lies in the fund selection process.

Conducting thorough due diligence on unit trust funds is a daunting task, given the limited and often outdated information provided in fund fact sheets and MDDs. These documents offer historical data and partial portfolio disclosures but provide little guidance on forward-looking performance or strategy. With more than 1,800 unit trust funds listed by ASISA, selecting the right options for clients is increasingly complex and fraught with uncertainty.

As a result of these pressures, the market has seen a wave of consolidation, with many IFAs affiliating with large corporates in the hope of easing operational burdens. However, this often comes at a substantial cost, having to split up to 30% of the IFA’s revenue. Crucially, such partnerships do not guarantee an increase in client acquisition as the responsibility for building and maintaining a client base remains solely with the advisor. Lower margins and reduced control also make business growth and long-term asset accumulation increasingly difficult, weakening the advisor’s overall value proposition.

Succession planning is another growing concern.

Advisors are frequently presented with unattractive internal succession offers, often at price-to-earnings (PE) multiples of just 1.5 to 2.5—far below the PE ratios of listed financial institutions, which can reach 15 to 20. This disparity forces many advisors to remain in practice long past their preferred retirement age simply to sustain their financial security and business value.

In response to these challenges, Warwick Wealth has developed an Advisory Partnership Model designed to solve these industry-wide challenge points. Our model offers IFAs a 100% revenue split whilst also providing full operational support—including compliance, administration, and investment management—through our established Warwick Wealth platform and the expertise of Orion Investment Managers. In addition, our partnership includes a market-leading succession plan with a far more attractive PE multiple of 10, ensuring that advisors and their families receive true value for their life’s work in the event of retirement, disability, or unforeseen circumstances.

For many advisors, this may represent the final opportunity to make a strategic career decision or licensing change. We encourage you to explore what Warwick Wealth can offer—for the benefit of your business, your family, and, most importantly, your clients.