Rating an adviser - caveat emptor

The men who brought you One Big Switch have now launched Adviser Ratings, but Mike Taylor writes that the devil is in the detail of their disclaimers. 

Anyone who has used TripAdvisor will know what can happen when a forum is created to rate a particular product or service. Some will provide an objective and honest rating based on their experience. Some will use it with malice or to fulfil their commercial interests. 

This much was recognised by BT Financial Group head of advice, Mark Spiers when discussing his company’s intention to provide advice clients with a forum within which clients could rate their adviser within a star rating system and provide comment on their experience. 

Spiers readily acknowledged to Money Management that the many stories which had been associated with reviews on TripAdvisor had made it obvious that any comments and assessments relating to BT Financial Group’s planners would need to be objectively assessed and appropriately moderated. 

In other words, the strategists within BT Financial Group were well aware of the pitfalls of consumer ratings and analyses when they decided to roll out the so-called Adviser View - entailing client satisfaction ratings and comments. 

The BT Financial Group approach is hardly surprising given that the last thing it wants is to provide an unfettered forum capable of being accessed by its competitors or general detractors and this appears to have been recognised by financial planners working within the group and associated companies such as Securitor. 

But where the BT Financial Group Adviser View initiative seems to have gained a grudging nod from many financial planners, the same cannot be said of another, not dissimilar initiative - Adviser Ratings. 

Indeed, if Money Management reader comments on the Adviser Ratings initiative are to be taken as a measure, then it is something which is being viewed with deep suspicion, not least because of those who are promoting the service. 

Those promoting the service are the very same people who established the Choice Big Bank Switch and the One Big Switch businesses which, in essence, offered consumers an ability to help them switch mortgage and/or energy providers with a view to reducing their bills. 

The people behind the Choice Big Bank Switch and One Big Switch have had close associations with consumer advocacy group, Choice, and it will not have been lost on financial planners that Choice was a strong critic of the financial planning industry during the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) debate and seen to be aligned with the industry funds movement. As recently as three months’ ago, Choice was advocating that the Federal Government should be abandoning its regulatory changes and amendments to FOFA. 

One of the directors of Adviser Ratings is Christopher Zinn who states on the company’s website that, “For much of 2014 I¨ grew a campaign called 'Save Our FOFA’ aimed at spreading awareness and support for the Future of Financial Advice legislation”. 

He then notes that, “previously I learned the ropes of the consumer movement as the media spokesman and campaigns chief for Choice where I first came to grips with the challenges and conflicts inherent in the structure of financial planning in Australia”. 

The managing director of Adviser Ratings is Angus Woods who was previously an executive of Macquarie Bank, Chief Financial Officer of Virgin Money and a founding member of the consumer movement, One Big Switch. 

Putting aside the backgrounds of the two key directors behind Adviser Ratings, the key to business model is contained in its website disclaimer: 

“While we may facilitate the review and introduction of Advisers, Customers of Adviser Ratings will be responsible for entering into their own agreement with Advisers introduced through our website. Adviser Ratings does not provide personal financial advice nor do we recommend or suggest a particular adviser is right for you. We provide information of a general nature and we do not take into consideration your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Always consider whether the advice and information you are provided suits your needs. 

Adviser Ratings does not endorse, accept or adopt the Advisers on our site, the content of any profiles or the comments or discussion in any community forums.” 

In other words, consumers and advisers should understand that, in the end, their use of the site and the outcomes they derive is largely at their own risk. 

Caveat emptor!