TAL has partnered with social research firm McCrindle to launch a new annual study aimed at helping advisers better understand shifting client needs.
The Modern Australia Index will provide insights into the social, demographic and economic trends shaping Australians’ financial behaviours and expectations.
TAL said the Index will give advisers a real-time understanding of the social, demographic and economic trends influencing their clients’ needs.
Founder and Principal at McCrindle, Mark McCrindle – a keynote speaker at Riskinfocus 26 – said the Index will explore Australians’ preparedness at a time when “rapid technological change and converging megatrends are reshaping Australians’ outlook”.
See: Megatrends to Reshape Financial Advice
“This research will provide a clear sense of Australians’ long-term outlook, and their current financial reality, health, digital behaviours and social connectivity,” said McCrindle.
The Index will cover the issues most relevant to adviser-client conversations, such as:
- Financial realities
- Cost of living pressures
- Digital consumer behaviour
- Generational shifts
- Wellbeing and health
- Australians’ attitudes toward protection
- The role of advice in their lives
Advisers are working harder than ever to understand what their clients need…
TAL GM, Consumer & Growth, Alexis Denby said the Index’s longitudinal design will allow advisers to track how views and circumstances change over time, translating broad social trends into insights they can act on in their businesses and client conversations.
She pointed to recent McCrindle generational analysis showing that although Baby Boomers hold around half of Australians’ private net wealth, they are not immune to rising living costs.
Meanwhile, Gen X and Gen Y, despite being in their peak earning years, typically have less accumulated wealth to rely on during periods of heightened uncertainty.
Denby said: “Advisers are working harder than ever to understand what their clients need, and we want to give them something that genuinely helps with that.
“For TAL, these insights will shape the products we offer, and how we engage with and support our customers.”
The Index will be made available to advisers and industry partners from July 2026.
