In today’s environment, where attracting and retaining talent is critical to achieving financial and professional goals, many advice practices have made company culture central to their success.
We explore why two of these firms – Boutique Advisers Private Wealth (Subiaco, WA) and Verse Wealth (Melbourne, VIC) – have been recognised on The Australian’s Best Places to Work 2025 list.
This prestigious list highlights organisations that excel in employee engagement, creating workplaces where staff are not only productive but genuinely happy.
Boutique Advisers Private Wealth - Subiaco, WA
With a team of 28, Boutique Advisers Private Wealth – a long-standing FAAA Professional Practice – has built a reputation for fostering a positive and supportive workplace.
Managing Director Gary Hasler CFP® said:
“We’ve always held ourselves out as being a business that you know the clients want to be part of and staff love coming to work”.
But having acknowledgement was important as he wanted a third-party to ratify what he had assumed.
“We do so much stuff socially, and so much in the business. We have a philanthropic fund and all this stuff that we do, which they invest their own time in. So, we know that the environment is great.”
Gary said receiving this kind of acknowledgement helps the business attract staff and clients also love it.
Gary said the team is taken on a trip overseas every two years.
“We’ve done Singapore, Bali, three times. We’ve done Lombok, we’ve done KL.
We only just got back from Bali this year. You know, it’s only for two or three days. Dress ups; no real work involved other than sort of team building type of stuff.
I think those types of things are important. We do them as a team.”
The business has been running for 23 years. More than half the staff have tenure of five or more years.
“I think we do a lot of stuff, right. But we do absolutely look after staff.
We give them between Christmas and New Year’s off each year; that’s extra leave of up to a week and we give their birthdays off.”
Everyone also has a couple of days every year that they can contribute to the practice’s philanthropic fund.
There are also opportunities for continuous learning for staff, with associates eligible for $5000 for education expenses each year.
The practice also makes a really clear pathway for each of the roles within the business, so people know what is available to them from a support perspective.
Verse Wealth - Melbourne, VIC
Verse Wealth CEO Corey Wastle CFP® started the company with another adviser 10 years ago.
“The intention was to transform what it meant to get financial advice.
We wanted to take two-dimensional advice and turn it into something that’s far more personal.”
Corey was 28 when he started the business but realised he couldn’t just survive on the younger demographic that the practice was naturally attracting. Most of the clients eventually became either pre retirees, high income professional families or successful business owners.
From the beginning, Corey was focused on the culture of the business and obsessed over two things, “If we can give people an incredible client experience that includes, you know, life changing advice, that’s the precursor to long term success.
“But to do that, we need to have phenomenal people working in a place they love.
We need to be a workplace that attracts the very best talent in our industry.
If you get the people and culture right everything else gets a bit easier.
And I think that is really important because business is so hard and there are so many problems, and the problems get amplified when you don’t have the right people or the right environment.”
Corey is the hiring manager and believes Verse has the most thorough process in financial advice. All candidates submit a career history questionnaire, which includes the reason why they are in financial advice, what success looks like and what the non-negotiables are in their next role.
Candidates are then required to submit a video so Corey can hear from them before offering an interview.
After that there are different steps dependent upon the candidate, and this includes a cultural interview where three Verse teammates have a 75-to-90-minute coffee interview to determine: would this person fit in that culture? Are they one of us? Am I excited to work with them?
Corey says the company is never short of applicants.
“From the beginning, we’ve designed an intentional, values-led culture where high performers thrive. We blend client obsession, innovation, and a deep commitment to personal growth.
Our team consistently describes Verse as a place where they feel challenged, supported, and inspired – not just by the work, but by the people they do it with.
We keep the bar high, invest deeply in culture, and foster an environment where every person can make meaningful contributions and shape the future.”
Employee engagement initiatives include a Verse share plan and empowerment to make their own decisions.
The company also strives to ensure a flexible, tech-enabled work environment with a five day in the office and five day working from home arrangement as well as highly competitive salaries (with the company saying it is working towards making them top of the market in two years).
Another part of the employee bonus is an annual interstate retreat called Next Verse; a $5,000 bonus if employees refer a new teammate; and generous leave policies and team celebrations.
Are you heading to Congress this year?
If you’re part of an FAAA Professional Practice and attending the FAAA Congress in Perth, don’t miss the FAAA Professional Practice Workshop. This lively interactive session will provide best practice solutions you can tailor for use in your business.
This year, the workshop explores succession planning across different timeframes, helping advice firms develop the right game plan to be succession-ready. Led by two experienced succession experts, the session will unpack current market valuations, what drives premium prices, and key success factors such as leadership development, target client clarity, and data-driven operations supported by the right technology. Participants will examine internal and external succession options, mergers, and the value of a professional business valuation, while hearing from three business owners who share lessons from their own journeys.
