Younger Aussies more open to advice: CFS

A new survey commissioned by Colonial First State (CFS) has showed younger Australians are the most inclined to want financial advice but face more barriers to receiving it than other generations.

Market researcher, Nature, surveyed 2000 consumers in July – with 1200 of those aged between 16 and 39 – and found that 53 per cent were open to receiving advice, compared to 36 per cent for those aged 40 to 59 and 15 per cent for those over 60.

However, the 16-to-39-year-olds were also confronted with affordability, accessibility and knowledge barriers, with 35 per cent unable to afford advice, 18 per cent unsure of the right questions to ask and 15 per cent unsure of how to access an adviser.

“It is critical that younger Australians who clearly want advice are able to access it,” Josh Grace, Group Executive – Customer Office at Colonial First State, said.

“We want more Australians to get some type of advice and we also want to see financial advisers freed up to be able to provide more tailored and single-topic advice so they can support more Australians to achieve their financial goals.

“CFS supports a vibrant advice sector. We want to see more Australians benefiting from access to advice and we want it to be easier for financial advisers to provide advice to those who need it.”

The survey also found that younger consumers had a higher interest in digital advice, with 63 per cent open to a digital advice solution and 25 per cent having used one before. This is much higher than the average for the whole cohort surveyed, with only 53 per cent open to digital advice, 20 per cent not open to it and 28 per cent were unsure.