Industry in throes of "quantum shift" of online advice
In the face of multiplying scenarios of limited advice provision, there will be a quantum shift in the way people advise themselves online - and the financial advice industry needs to figure out the best way to facilitate that, according to Greg Miller, general manager MLC Direct.
"Online tools can play a terrific role to help people get advice about certain things," he said. "As an industry we've had exemptions around some calculators, but we need to go much further than that."
People will increasingly want to do things online but customers generally find it very hard to recognise when they've left product and when they've entered advice, so the industry needs to adapt to that, he said.
"Part of what we need to focus on is how we deliver those components in the right way, but understand and inform the customer about their position," he said.
"Best interests comes up a lot and we believe you can deliver scaled advice over the phone and [fulfil] the best interests duty," he said.
MLC is also very conscious of letting customers know about the things they might be missing out on, and encouraging them to carry out the review in another way, he added.
Recommended for you
As the year draws to a close, a new report has explored the key trends and areas of focus for financial advisers over the last 12 months.
Assured Support explores five tips to help financial advisers embed compliance into the heart of their business, with 2025 set to see further regulatory change.
David Sipina has been sentenced to three years under an intensive correction order for his role in the unlicensed Courtenay House financial services.
As AFSLs endeavour to meet their breach reporting obligations, a legal expert has emphasised why robust documentation will prove fruitful, particularly in the face of potential regulatory investigations.
