Planners should not fear advice technology

 Dealer groups and financial planners have nothing to fear from the push by industry funds to provide advice to their members, according to a director of advisory technology firm, Provisio Technologies, Cameron O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan said that superannuation funds were now clear leaders in pushing advice technology and were taking steps forward in terms of achieving the Government’s aim of providing advice to the general public – something that would not have happened without the use of technology.

Claiming dealer groups and planners had nothing to fear from the move by the industry funds, O’Sullivan said it represented a valuable service to members who would usually miss out on advice altogether.

“The advice services implemented by the super funds reach the bulk of the population who have never seen a financial planner, and are unlikely to ever do so,” he said.

“In most cases this is providing the most basic advice, which would not impact on the majority of financial planners,” O’Sullivan said.

The Provisio Technologies director said the same tools could also benefit financial planners who might also wish to engage with clients online.

"All planners and dealer groups have a reasonable number of clients with relatively simple advice needs, and automating some of those processes can free up more of their time and lower the cost per client of providing advice," he said.