Our latest poll is seeking an update on whether you perceive digital advice to be a threat to your business or an opportunity.
We’re asking this question in light of this week’s confirmation of the formation of the Digital Advice Expert Group to work and advocate in conjunction with the Financial Services Council (see: Digital Advice Expert Group Launched).
Referring to what the FSC describes as a “…massive opportunity to deliver financial advice digitally”, the common goal of the members of this group is to offer Australian consumers access to affordable and accessible advice.
…digital advice technology is the only way to bridge the huge gap between the …demand and supply of advice
Given the still-rising cost to deliver financial advice (notwithstanding the intention of industry and Government to reduce costs) and the effective halving of the number of financial advisers in recent years, advocates argue that digital advice technology is the only way to bridge the huge gap between the current demand and supply of advice.
Do you agree? On the surface, this appears to be a logical argument to press, but the question – at least for financial advisers – is whether the emergence and future acceptance of digital advice will serve to reinforce and complement the services provided by human advisers or prove instead to be a more efficient and lower-cost competitor.
We asked you the same question around 18 months ago, when the terminology being used was ‘Robo Advice’, and this was the outcome:
18 months ago, the majority believed digital or robo advice was more of a friend to advisers, or at least not an enemy. There was a prevailing view that, even if the human adviser was not a part of the advice equation (although a number of digital advice platforms are designed to be utilised in conjunction with the adviser), the fact of more consumers experiencing a financial advice process would in turn lead to more people eventually seeking further or higher levels of advice from human advisers.
There was also a view that basic financial advice delivered via a digital solution would offer value to a socio-economic demographic of consumers for whom most financial advisers have historically been challenged to deliver a commercially-viable service.
It may take a very long time for adviser numbers to get back to what they were a few years ago and, despite best efforts, there is little evidence that the cost of delivering advice will fall significantly any time soon.
In this environment, where do you stand on this question? Tell us what you think and we’ll continue the conversation next week…
