From my personal experience, and I think other advisors can all...

From my personal experience, and I think other advisors can all agree, employers within the financial industry are hoping to attract and retain top talent by offering significant salary increases and/or bonuses as the competition is cut throat. It is much easier and cost effective to retain quality staff than attract new hires.

In addition, the actual number of employees working for Netwealth has also increased quite a lot over the last 6 months and think this head count growth will continue. The increased employee expenditure should not be a surprise as it has been previously announced Netwealth will be investing in their employees and technological capabilities as to ensure their growth is sustainable.

They even suggested top line growth and NPAT will be impacted in the second half presumably resulting from their commitment to invest in their employees and tech capabilities. I personally don't think this should be alarming as they continue striving towards one of their strategic objectives which is to cater for HNW. You can't attract HNW investors without having top talent, and top talent costs money. But this is a highly lucrative opportunity for Netwealth.

I think it's also worth noting Netwealth has been stealing market share from their major competitors. This to me is a testament to their investment in retaining and attracting talented employees and investment in their tech capabilities. They need to fully commit to their investment plans if they intend on executing their strategic objective successfully. Although there are some pain to be felt in the coming months ahead, I remain optimistic about the years ahead.

I hope this has shed some light and addresses your concerns in relation to increased employee expenditure.