As the NSW-Victoria border shuts and our Melbourne neighbours head back into lockdown, that light we thought we were seeing at the end of Australia’s COVID-19 tunnel is dimming slightly. For many financial planners, the work you did to digitise and set your operations up to work remotely will need to be drawn upon once more.

Here’s what you need to know this week: 

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.