Pro bono advice to promote financial planning

More than 170 members of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) will be offering free online financial advice for the next six weeks in the hope of promoting the profession to potential clients, according to FPA chief Mark Rantall (pictured).

The ‘Ask an Expert’ service kicked off yesterday with the launch of the 11th annual Financial Planning Week, and will remain on the Good Advice website until 1 July, 2011.

Rantall said this service was a way for people “to put their toes in the water” of expert advice and to get a better idea of what a financial planner actually does.

“It’s designed to allow people to experience an advice relationship without actually having to go anywhere or do anything and to experience advice in a non-threatening and zero-cost way,” Rantall said.

Last year, planners responded to 430 questions over a five-week period, with approximately 25 per cent of clients signing up for a more permanent relationship with an adviser.

Rantall said the advisers would be providing one-off advice, with further consultation on offer if the advice needed to be expanded.

“Whether it’s about their super, dealing with debt, investing in property or saving for the future, our experts can help out,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate exactly what we do and how important financial advice is for everyone – not just those with dollars to spare.”

Consumers are instructed to click on the ‘Ask and Expert’ link on the Good Advice website and select a planner from the panel. They would then email the question and the planner would reply directly.

The FPA noted that 43 per cent of last year’s users had changed their view of financial planning to a more positive outlook after accessing the service.

As part of the financial planning week, the FPA will also be organising financial literacy seminars as well as career expos around the country.