Former NAB exec launches online advisory service
A former NAB executive will launch an online entry level advisory service aimed at consumers who do not require comprehensive advice or fall outside typical the client types targeted by advisers.
BigFuture co-founder, Michael Clancy, said the service would approach financial planning groups who have clients they are unable to service or who fell outside their typical client profiles.
"We are looking at the 80 per cent of people who don't have a relationship with financial planners and are looking for some way to engage with their finances," Clancy said.
"Many have super, savings, debt and so on but don't know the basics of risk and return and we are trying to engage them where they are, not where they need to be."
"If they have complex needs they should go to an adviser for a plan but we are starting at the relatively easy end."
He said the advisory service would be offered online and would provide basic investing, planning and retirement income tools but would not aim to produce financial plans.
Clancy, who worked in various roles at NAB for 14 years including most recently as NAB Wealth executive general manager — investment platforms, said BigFuture was building a retirement income modelling tool but was not looking at replacing advisers
"Our intention is to try and help those without sufficient funds to warrant seeing a financial planner or those who have funds but choose not to access comprehensive advice," he said.
"We are not trying to build a complex advice engine nor produce a financial plan but rather target more basic issues than that."
He said the cost to consumers would be about 10 per cent of an average financial plan and the retirement income tools would offer scenarios and options around savings and income levels.
However Clancy said the tools would not be connected to any products and would leave implementation of plans and strategy to the users of the tools and site.
BigFuture would still require a licence with Clancy stating while the service was in testing it would launch in next few months after both the license application and testing was completed.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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