The benefits of outsourcing Virtual Assistants can’t be ignored

New Zealand financial advisers are dealing with a familiar set of pressures. Client demand is increasing, compliance requirements are becoming more onerous, and the pool of experienced local staff is small and expensive.

Irrespective of the type of advice a business focuses on, the need to maintain a high-quality client experience while scaling sustainably has never been greater.

It was against this backdrop that Wealthpoint established Wealthpoint Advantage+Office, our branded outsourcing partnership with Atlas Outsourcing in 2024. The service connects our member businesses with experienced virtual administrators in the Philippines, available on a fixed hourly rate to carry out an agreed range of office and client service tasks.

In effect, it provides a ready-made extension of an adviser’s team, without the overheads of recruitment, equipment, or training.

The range of duties these virtual assistants can perform is broad. Most are highly skilled in financial services administration and already work with large Australian advice networks, so they understand the practical realities of adviser businesses. Typical tasks include:

• setting up client appointments and sending invitations
• managing application forms and documentation
• following up on underwriting and new business
• collecting claim information from clients
• updating client records and ensuring CRM accuracy
• ensuring databases remain clean and accurate.
• paraplanning support (subject to service level agreements) such as assisting in the generation of Statements of Advice, and client review documents.

Productivity gains

What this means in practice is that advisers and local staff are freed up to concentrate on higher-value work: meeting with clients, tailoring strategies, and building relationships. Instead of spending time chasing documents or inputting data, advisers begin their day with tasks already completed overnight.

That is one of the less obvious but most valuable aspects of the outsourcing models. The four-hour time zone difference, which some of our members feared would be a challenge, has turned out to be an advantage. Because virtual assistants start work in the afternoon New Zealand time and continue beyond close of business, advisers return to the office in the morning to find reports prepared, files updated, and client communications ready to go.

This has created a rhythm of work that extends business productivity beyond standard hours.

Data security

Another common concern was data security. In financial services, trust and compliance are paramount, so the idea of handing sensitive tasks to someone thousands of kilometres away was initially met with caution. In reality, the systems and controls that Atlas has in place are impressive, as we discovered when visiting their offices in Manila.

Encryption, biometric security access, restricted access rights, tightly managed devices and ongoing monitoring are standard, and in most cases exceed the protections that small and mid-sized firms could put in place on their own.

The cost advantage

The cost effectiveness of outsourcing has also been difficult to ignore.

The Australian market, facing similar workforce pressures, reports paying nearly a 20% premium on salaries simply to secure local talent. New Zealand advisers are experiencing the same competition for skills.

Outsourcing does not replace the need for good local staff, but it does rebalance the cost structure. Our Member businesses have gained access to university-educated, English-speaking professionals with financial services experience at a fraction of the cost of an equivalent local role. And because the service is flexible, advisers can scale hours up or down to meet peaks in demand, such as during annual renewals, without carrying fixed salary commitments.

Lessons from Australia

Outsourcing is already well-established in Australia, and the key lesson from across the Tasman is that outsourcing succeeds when offshore staff are treated as part of the team, not as an anonymous cost centre.

Businesses that invest in onboarding, training, and engaging their virtual assistants as colleagues report strong results and long-term benefits.

Those that view it purely as a cost-cutting exercise, by contrast, often struggle. That insight has guided our approach with Wealthpoint Advantage+Office. Offshore staff are positioned not as outsiders but as valued members of the wider business, supported by oversight, quality standards, and continuity measures such as back-up administrators to cover leave.

There is also a wider context. Covid-19 normalised remote working and broke down the idea that valuable colleagues must sit in the same office, city or even the same country. For advisers, this has made the concept of outsourcing more acceptable, even attractive.

The conversation is no longer about whether offshore support is viable, but about how best to integrate it into the business model.

Wealthpoint’s experience with outsourcing has been game-changing for the 15 member businesses that have already engaged full or part-time virtual administrators. It has allowed them to access skilled support, manage or reduce costs, maintain continuity, and expand capacity without taking on unnecessary risk.

Concerns about time zones and security have been addressed, and the experiences of our member businesses show the model works extremely well in practice. As demand for advice grows, outsourcing will increasingly be a strategic tool for scaling efficiently.

Looking ahead

In the end, the global nature of talent and technology means there is no reason New Zealand advisers cannot take advantage of the same opportunities already benefiting their Australian counterparts.

It may be worth asking yourself which parts of your workload genuinely require your time and which could be handled just as effectively elsewhere.

Outsourcing is not the answer for every task, but for many advisers it is becoming an important part of building a resilient business.

Outsourcing is still new territory for many in our sector. If you’d like to learn more about how it’s being applied here in New Zealand, feel free to get in touch.

Mark Nalder is the Head of Strategy and Growth at Wealthpoint.