Matching the customer with the appropriate financial adviser will be as vital as formulating the appropriate financial strategies, a Deloitte report said.
Titled ‘The Advice Based World’, the report said there is disconnect between the growing demand for trusted advice, and the dwindling supply of trusted advisers.
The report identified three factors that will aid the transition to the advice based world: the right advice, at the right time, in the right context.
“It would be too easy to look at the financial advice industry today, and be pessimistic about its future,” one of the report’s author and a financial services leader at Deloitte, Phil Hardy said.
“As the demand for trusted advice grows, confidence in the supply of trusted advisers has waned. However, Deloitte sees an optimistic future for those with the foresight and determination to resolve this mismatch and transform their business models to tap into what is a considerable opportunity for the future.”
Successful advisers will be those who cope with regulatory change, capitalise on technology and adapt to evolving customer behaviours.
Businesses will use behavioural assessment tools to find the best adviser-customer matches.
They will increasingly use technologies such as Skype, which will eliminate old access and proximity barriers that have previously hindered customers from getting advice.
In the advice based world, websites such as ‘Find a Planner’ will mean ‘business chemistry’ will beat location, and location will become irrelevant over time.
The report said advisers should seek input from employees and customers when matchmaking, and find out what customer preferences are.
They should also find new processes and technology but value existing tools like corporate directories or profile information from social media sites such as LinkedIn.
However, the report warns high adviser attrition will thwart efficient adviser matchmaking.
“Given the ease at which employees and particularly advisers can move between employer/licensee competitors, establishing a strong sense of community within an organisation increases the likelihood of retaining talent,” the report said.
