Face-to-face advice demand rises for UniSuper
UniSuper has seen demand rise for face-to-face financial advice from its members despite the rapid growth of robo-advice.
The industry superannuation fund for employees in the education sector said face-to-face financial advice continued to grow as the preferred approach among its members, with initial advice appointments growing by over 20 per cent year-on-year. Review advice, where an adviser reviews an existing financial advice plan was up over 70 per cent.
Upcoming changes to super coming into effect on 1 July was driving this rise in demand.
UniSuper executive manager, advice, Jack McCartney, said more than 50 per cent of the fund’s initial advice appointments in its adviser network were now happening face-to-face.
“While phone-based and digital scaled advice have a place, for members wanting to discuss more complex needs or approaching retirement, there is a clear preference to have these discussions in person, with more than half of UniSuper’s initial advice appointments now occurring face-to-face,” McCartney said.
“We’ve also seen this trend grow among younger members, with the initial face-to-face meeting helping build a deeper relationship as a base to grow and evolve over time as their situation changes.”
UniSuper has nearly 50 financial advisers nationally, providing advice on super, investments, insurance, and retirement strategies.
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
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