1. Switching – Many advisers have been switching their clients onto new investment platforms new data from Investment Trends reveals. Many are also broadening the range of platforms they use. “The average planner uses 2.6 platforms each, reversing the consolidation seen in the last two years (up from 2.3 in 2018 and 2.1 in 2019)”. More here.

2. Open banking for clients – With COVID-19, market volatility and regulatory issues, advisors have had a lot to contend with, pushing open banking into the background for many. However, it’s something some advisors are already starting to leverage – linking portals with client bank accounts, super funds and insurance policies to start to figure out how they can use the technology to their benefit.  myprosperity integration partner Iress explained that this will enable advisors to have deeper client conversations regarding cashflow and goals as you can see more information in more detail. More here.

3. Open banking for practices – Open banking helps in the client onboarding phase, digitising the fact find when it comes to spending habits and on an ongoing basis you won’t need to rely on the client for updates on spending and other financial activities. More on digital fact finds here.

4. How you can help. Financial advisors can play a critical role in a client’s life, in particular you can help lower debt, raise cash, assess new investment opportunities, execute ideas or just help keep the lights on and the day-to-day operations running smoothly. More here.

5. No better time than now. New research from KPMG shows that those who  use financial advisers see them as essential.It found that more than 70% were satisfied with their financial planner – compared to 59% of respondents who were satisfied with their superannuation funds. More here.

In this week’s episode, Chris Ridd talks to author and founder of Australia’s most genuinely connected HR Executive Director’s Network, Justine Figo about leadership, people management and culture during these COVID times. 

Justine’s insights into organisational behaviour reveal that people are working harder than ever before. The fight or flight mode kicks in during times of duress, so it’s not a matter of motivating workers so much as truly communicating with them during this time.  Leaders are just as concerned about their job security at the moment, so Justine’s advice is they need to take a bigger stand and positively influence the work culture. 

“Where leaders have stepped up, continued to set the direction and openly communicated this, while showing care and appreciation for their people, they’ve seen an uplift in their engagement scores.”

While it may seem like an employer’s market at the moment, Justine advises to tread cautiously with that mindset. 

“You want to be mindful of Candidate Care because even though you can’t hire everyone, you should follow up with candidates and be very careful in this market because you can do brand damage. There are many more people looking for jobs who are a lot more sensitive and feeling especially vulnerable, so it’s important to protect your brand.” 

In terms of the work-life balance that has shifted for many during this time, it’s the smart People and Culture leaders who are taking the opportunity to embed flexible work and align it with the team and organisational strategy going forward.

“Leadership can be learned. Give people the skills and the results will follow. Your strategy on the wall becomes actions on the floor.” 

Watch the full interview below. 

In case you missed it, Stephen Jackel, CEO of myprosperity, took to the airwaves earlier today to provide an update to our community of partners on all the great things that are happening in the world of myprosperity. 

As we’ve observed in various blog articles and throughout the myprosperity@home interview series (hosted by Director, Chris Ridd) the uptick in usage of the myprosperity platform from partners since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been substantial. Across the board we are seeing more advisers and their clients turn to digital platforms and software to stay connected and perform tasks that previously required face-to-face interaction. Digital is here to stay and in our view we will all be better for it.

A good example, and one that’s growing in popularity amongst many of our partners, is the recently launched Digital Forms feature. Digital Forms was launched last year and allows a partner to create any number of intelligent, digital forms that can be presented to a client via their portal in order to streamline the collection of data to perform a specific task. Most popular has been the Tax Checklists, Fact Find and Mortgage Applications. For partners that have client data already entered into the portal, these forms will pre-populate with the relevant data so clients don’t have to re-enter or search information. Frankly, this is the holy grail of productivity for advisers when it comes to gathering information because it allows them to do away with paper and manual entry. The list of supported forms in the platform continues to grow as partners embrace the capability. Checkout the demo provided by Steve at the end of the webinar. Equally, if you’d like to speak with us about how we can customise a Digital Form for your practice or dealer group, please use this form and we’ll be in touch.

Another popular feature in the Partner Portal is the Digital Document Signing that has been around for some years, and a top feature that’s also included in the Partner Portal. If you are not already using this, get on it. To have clients sign documents from directly within the client portal really is a no-brainer in today’s business environment. Stephen Jackel mentioned that with the current lockdown situation we have seen a 300% increase in clients now using this feature since the start of 2020. The other good news is that the feature will soon be getting a revamp to enable a more intuitive and responsive user experience; making your tasks and the services provided to your clients that much slicker. Partners can expect this new look digital doc signing interface to go live in the next week, so if you are not using it today you really should check it out.

Aside from the product updates, Steve spoke about the myprosperity@home interview series that Chris has been hosting, and the great feedback on the insights and tips being shared by the various guests. As restrictions start to lift, the discussion has started to shift to life after Covid-19 and what advisers might expect the new norms that will emerge may be, and how the way that we work and engage with clients will be redefined. The guest list continues, bringing you more bright and insightful minds in the business so check out the series on our blog. 

Finally, there has been a revamp of the myprosperity Training page to ensure it is easy to find the latest demonstration videos on particular features. If you want to take a deep dive into any of the key features mentioned including Digital Forms, Doc Signing or otherwise you can access these at https://myprosperity.com.au/training/

Until next month we hope you stay safe and productive and wish you and your clients all the best as we enter FY21.

Here’s what’s happening in Advisory this week: 

1. Anxiety is running high. Two peak financial advisory bodies have told the House of Representatives economics committee on Tuesday their members are in a heightened state of anxiety. “The sheer weight and number of reforms, we’ve seen so much reform,” Association of Financial Advisers chief executive Philip Kewin told the committee. Everyone’s committed to professionalism, but the journey to professionalism has been so rapid and the change has been so monumental that it has put an extreme amount of pressure on financial advisers.” Many in the sector are struggling, while others have left the profession all together. More here.
2. FASEA exams. Advisers are required to take the new exam by the end of 2021. However, out of 23,000 advisers only 7,000 have taken the test to date. 
3. Prepping for recessionary conditions. It’s something advisers can help their clients with – helping them make smart decisions like pay off high-interest debt or establishing an emergency fund. More handy tips here. AMP investigation. Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill, has requested ASIC  investigate AMP for changes to contracts with outgoing financial planners that have left many in debt. AMP changed the terms of arrangements with its financial planners last year, reducing the value of many advice businesses by more than one-third. Under the arrangement, known as the buyer of last resort (BOLR), AMP would purchase client books of retiring advisers for four times the annual revenue but this was reduced to 2.5 times in an effort to cut costs. More here.
4. Happy new financial year! The psychology of markets or behavioural economics has never been more important than during these very uncertain times. Market Strategist Michael McCarthy analyses how you can be a profitable trader during these crazy times in his AFR column here.

When Australia went into COVID lockdown no one quite knew what to expect. What followed  was a significant period of adjustment that effected all industries and businesses, as the transition to remote working and homeschooling took over. Tim Henry, Director of Aspire Planning noticed the lull in client interactions during that transitional period and decided to send out a “wealth check” survey to all their clients to glean insights and sentiments in the current climate. With a 50% response rate, the survey proved to be a great touchpoint for building client interactions back up again. The team was able to prioritise clients with lower scoring results, and provide them with the individual advice and reassurances they needed.   

“This is when you earn your stripes, when clients see the value.” Tim Henry explains that along with playing the role of adviser right now, they’re also in part counsellors. 

Speaking of changes to how we work, Tim predicts that individualised work flexibility plans are going to be the way forward. With everyone’s needs a little different, it’s important to maintain the flexibility that these COVID times has fast tracked. As for client interactions, video meetings have been a huge success. “We’re able to deliver and present way better, and it may come at the expense of physical interaction and relationship building, so there’s a balance there.” 

Watch the full interview below. 

1. Retirees anxious – The AFR’s Aleks Vickovich reports this week 80 per cent of older Australians are fearful their investments are not safe in the wake of the pandemic. But worryingly, the same percentage of the cohort in the Alianz research have not sought financial advice during the pandemic, with two-thirds indicating they thought advice was too expensive and one-third believing the service was only for “the rich”. “We have to change perceptions of financial advice among retirees and increase access to affordable advice,” Matt Rady, chief executive of Allianz Retire+ said. “Those with an adviser told us they feel more confident and secure in their financial position.”

2. Good advice is good value. What’s interesting about the above research is that those who sought advice were feeling much more confident about their retirement – they felt things were under control. So while advisory may still have a perception problem, for those who do use the service wisely, they’re feeling the positive effects.

3. We’ve long spoken of an industry reset, one where multidisciplinary firms rise to the forefront of the sector and the value financial advisors provide their clients with is highlighted. It’s something that The Australian’s James Kirby discusses in his column this week. “Every industry across the nation’s economy will have its own version of a post-pandemic recovery, but financial advisers must go a little further than that. The sector has to rebuild a professional reputation that was torched by the Hayne royal commission, an exercise made worse as the nation’s biggest banks walked away from the area.” More here. 

4. Top 100 Financial Advisors in Australia – did you make the cut?

5. More bumps ahead. A long, U-shaped recovery seems to be what’s ahead of us according to a panel of experts put together by Money Management. The group recommends  keeping clients patient, well-diversified and focused on the long game. More here.