It will continue to pay trail regardless of an adviser client's financial circumstances
Pepper Money has announced that it will continue to honour all trail commissions to advisers, regardless of whether or not their customers have been affected by COVID-19.
The lender confirmed in March that it would continue to pay trail commission to advisers until December 31, 2020, with New Zealand country head Aaron Milburn saying this would ensure advisers can continue to offer guidance to clients during a difficult time. Pepper Money will now continue its trail payments until at least December 31, 2021, when the position will once again be reviewed.
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“We understand that advisers have families too, and a large portion of their time has been taken up helping their customers navigate some fairly uncharted waters,” Milburn commented.
“There was obviously concern in the back of their minds around income and supporting their own families, and the feedback to our commitment has been extremely positive. It just shows how aligned we are to the advisers, and the strength of our partnership.”
Pepper Money has implemented its trail policy across both Australia and New Zealand, with a number of lenders in Australia following suit after its initial announcement. Milburn said the company is very proud to have been the first to implement the policy, and said it will keep going even while take-up of support measures decreases.
“The need for support measures has very much decreased since the start, but there are still customers throughout New Zealand who are only just returning to some normality,” Milburn said.
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“Their industry may be back in play, but if you think about things like the aviation industry – they’re still very much affected. We will continue to work with those customers to help them out.”
“We will continue to review our decision, and if there are still advisers who are impacted by December 2021, then we will look to support them,” he concluded.
“We are genuinely aligned to the advisers, and without their support in New Zealand, we wouldn’t have a business. We will continue to support them in every way we can throughout our time in New Zealand, which we expect to be long and tenured.”
