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Why financial advice has become generic (and how to actually stand out)

Over 13 years ago, when Will Hamilton began building Hamilton Wealth Partners (HWP), he received some input that changed the way he approached advice.

"You don't need to do that much on client experience … given what is the norm, especially amongst some of the larger firms."

Rather than accepting this standard, he leaned into client experience as a source of pride and as a way for HWP to stand out. His people-first approach to advice is paying dividends, with the firm now managing $1.3 billion on behalf of its clients.

That approach starts with communication. Hamilton points to the Merrill Lynch approach as one way to push the standard with just three numbers: 12-4-2. Advisers verbally contact clients at least once a month, not via email but over the phone. In addition to monthly calls, advisers meet with their clients at least four times per year, with at least two in person.

In case you were wondering, the pay-off from increased communication is clear. One adviser-client study found that 85% of high-value clients said increased and personalised communication could significantly enhance their confidence in their adviser, and nearly half of respondents with over $500,000 AUM would prefer monthly contact. (2024 Advisor-Client Communication Survey)

To ensure communication never slips off the list of priorities, Hamilton caps advisers at 50 clients each, despite the industry average sitting around 112 (according to a CFS survey from 2025).

He’s also adamant about going the extra mile - both figuratively and literally. On a recent trip to London, he photographed meeting rooms at private wealth firms and a Swiss private bank for inspiration. He returned with two ideas: Clear the table of clutter before clients sit down (no mints, water, etc. on the table - have these on a sideboard), and serve a single good chocolate with coffee.

Separately, inspired by a firm in Madrid, Hamilton now hosts large client events he likens to weddings. As clients intermingle, relationships are built and networks expanded. Guest speakers like Peter Costello help draw a crowd, and word of mouth does the rest.

He recommends that advisers start sweating the small stuff. You don’t have to fly to London to photograph private banks, but you should be looking for ways to surpass the standard. Wealthy clients likely built their wealth by paying attention to details, so make sure you’re paying attention to yours.

Five adviser insights from Will Hamilton

1. AI will not replace the human touch, but it will expand capacity

Hamilton runs HWP with a specific approach to technology: If it doesn’t add value, automate it. AI is accelerating that. He sees it creating adviser capacity across note-taking, meeting summaries, documentation, and compliance, and he believes it could push his 50-client cap to 60. The catch is discipline around data security. HWP has strict guardrails ensuring no client information enters any AI tool.

2. Wealthy clients are complex clients

Hamilton refuses to use the term high-net-worth. His preferred framing is "complex clients with complex needs." Most of his clients built wealth through a business rather than a profession, and the work goes well beyond managing a portfolio. He asks families whether they are family-first or business-first, explores legacy and intergenerational cohesion, and keeps a panel of specialists on call covering family governance, estate planning, and psychology.

3. The questions most advisers aren’t asking are some of the most important

Death, divorce, and addiction are facts of life. Hamilton treats them as planning variables. His firm explores family conflict, succession, whether wealth will survive the next generation, and whether guardrails need to be in place before any of those events occur.

4. Culture over cashflows

When it comes to acquisitions, Hamilton places culture ahead of cashflows and will walk away from a firm where multiple advisers operate as separate businesses under one roof. The integration framework is simple: this is how we do things, this is why, and anyone joining needs to be genuinely aligned with that, not just agreeable during negotiations.

5. AI-fuelled markets should be treated with caution

Hamilton believes markets are overpaying for AI. His concern is not a 2000-style tech correction but something broader, closer to 2008, because the physical inputs to AI infrastructure, like steel and copper, create commodity market correlations that could drag the wider economy down. He is sitting on incoming cash rather than deploying it, and is underweight Australian equities (more so than at any point in the firm's history).

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Join us for the FinFest exclusive preview

FinFest is shaping up to be the biggest thing we’ve done at Equity Mates. 2,500 attendees, five stages, food trucks, bars, and a full day of content for Australians of all investing levels.

The day before, we’re hosting a preview for financial advisers. You’ll be able to see the full FinFest set-up before anyone else, watch us interview Joe Aston, and hear six fund managers pitch their best ideas to a Shark Tank-style panel of experts.

The event is free for financial advisers to attend. There are limited spaces, so you do need to reserve your ticket at: https://www.finfestevent.com/Industry26/

This week’s chart

Hamilton’s “Chart of the Week” made the rounds in financial circles, outlining the stark contrast in cash flows between buyers and sellers of chips.

He believes the interconnected nature of the AI theme could mean that any disappointment in the hyperscaler and semiconductor stocks could reverberate across infrastructure, private markets, industrials, energy and credit.

Advisers need to communicate with their clients that the theme carries both extraordinary opportunity and extraordinary risk.

In case you missed it

Last week, we were joined by Hall of Fame fund manager and IML founder Anton Tagliaferro. The legendary value investor explains why he believes we are nearing the top of the cycle and shares his tips for advisers hungry for value in an overheated market.

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