The golden age of advice is coming in the next five years – if you’re ready

Intelliflo chief executive, Nick Eatock writes that the Australian advice landscape is changing and amid the challenges will be significant opportunities.

Throughout my career in the financial advice industry, I’ve seen the profession grow and shrink, shift its focus, react to changing rules and rising technology, and rapidly pivot to meet new consumer preferences.

Despite that, I can say with confidence that today’s Australian advice landscape is on the precipice of change we haven’t seen in the past.

While the client has always been at the heart of everything the adviser does, today’s consumers have a lot more power than they have previously. They have an increasing ability to determine how they engage with advice, how they pay for it, how it fits with their values, and the role it plays in their broader life story.

These consumer powers will have the flow on effects of determining the success and longevity of advice businesses in Australia and globally. The practices who can meet changing expectations will be able to build more sustainable business models and will exercise greater influence over the profession’s future direction.

As many advisers know though, currently, the vast majority of Australians are not advised, either because they can’t afford it, can’t easily access it, or don’t know how it can add value to their lives.

The perception challenge is particularly pronounced when it comes to younger generations, who are likely to need advice when the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer in history hits, but still see advice as the domain of wealthy older people. How will advisers rise to the challenge of connecting with these potential clients and their unmet needs? It’s time for the profession to rethink how it engages with the next generation of clients.

An unprecedented opportunity

Does that mean advisers – and the profession at large – are under threat? On the contrary. For the adviser who is willing to adapt their approach, the next age of advice promises to bring long-term client relationships, strong job satisfaction and indispensability.

One of the first major changes we’ll see in the next five years is the transformation of the client experience and how advice is delivered. Young people are digital natives who have become accustomed to seamless online experiences, instant access to information, and interactive tools. Yet, many in our profession still rely on lengthy client meetings, dense paperwork and outdated onboarding processes.

Emerging technologies presents the biggest opportunity for change here, because it can engage new clients where they already spend their time and reduce costs on the practice side. It frees up advisers to inject more of their time into the client experience.

We’re already seeing advisers using artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise meetings and to help remember important client insights, to create follow-up opportunities, and to run compliance checks.

Beyond efficiency though, AI, automation and client engagement tools will help willing advisers create a more interactive and personalised client experience, which may be particularly prized among clients who already receive and expect this in other areas of their lives.

Clients of today and tomorrow expect gamified financial education tools, where they can visualise different scenarios in real time. At intelliflo, we persistently hear about how powerful cashflow modelling and client portals are when it comes to keeping clients engaged and accountable on their wealth-building journey.

Of course, technology also offers a significant opportunity to bridge the advice gap by recruiting and engaging entirely new clients, who haven’t had any interaction with advice in the past. The success of finance influencers on social media proves that young people are hungry for relatable, accessible financial content. Instead of seeing these influencers as competitors, financial advisers need to embrace personal branding and create content that demystifies the financial planning process for a younger audience.

Some of these new methods of engagement can seem alienating and threatening for businesses who have had set processes for decades. However, I strongly believe the ability to adapt will separate those who will flourish in the next five years in advice and those who won’t.

The challenges and opportunities I’ve discussed have formed the basis of a whitepaper intelliflo has produced, thanks to the forward-thinking insights of a panel of respected voices from the profession and beyond.

This is a golden age for financial advice—but only for those who are willing to innovate. The advisers and practices that embrace change and evolve their client offering will not only future-proof their business but will become a key part of the next generation’s wealth-building story.

Nick Eatock is the founder and CEO of intelliflo