Financial advisers have an opportunity to help those affected by financial stress during the pandemic, according to Ignition Advice, and technology can help.
One-in-four Australians said they felt under financial stress during the pandemic and one-in-three said their financial situation had worsened, according to research by charity The Smith Family.
Speaking to Money Management, Ignition Advice chief executive for Asia Pacific Craig Keary, said many people were unaware of financial advice or how it could help their situations. It was therefore up to advisers to reach out to this demographic and find ways that they can help to lower costs for people.
“Advisers have an opportunity to engage with customers and provide help and guidance to those who need it,” he said.
“People are worried about their retirements, their savings, their financial habits and there are a lot of people who are still not working so this is the cohort that would be under stress and appreciate guidance from an adviser.”
This was helped by the slowdown in regulatory and compliance activity this year which would free up more of advisers’ time.
He said technology use by advisers had increased during the pandemic thanks to services like Zoom conferencing and this offered the chance for advisers to reach a broader range of clients than they would be able to do face-to-face.
Technology also was able to lower the cost which could make advice more affordable for the average consumer, a longstanding problem for the industry in reaching a broader client base.
“With the expectation of more market volatility, the need for communication has never been more critical. We expect advisers to use more technology as things won’t go back to the way they were before and to operate in a hybrid way to connect with more customers,” Keary said.
Uptake of digital advice services was low in Australia, said Keary, but had been higher in UK and Europe.
“UK and Europe’s use of digital advice is about 18 months ahead of Australia and we are excited to see what will happen in Australia in the next year,” he said.
