MLC has reduced the size of its statement of advice (SOA) templates by an average 20 per cent, following up on a 68 per cent reduction in template size one year ago.
MLC Advice Solutions general manager Greg Miller said the reduction had been achieved by “attacking complexity in our SOA templates by replacing a significant amount of text with easy to read tables, graphs and flowcharts”.
“We’ve also incorporated simple visual devices to improve comprehension such as using green ticks and red crosses to indicate the link between client objectives and adviser recommendations.”
Miller said a broad representation of advisers as well as the FPA had provided feedback on the templates to create a client experience that is not bogged down by excessive product information.
“The guiding principle behind the templates was a more client-focused approach to the display of information and that can only be positive for the industry.”
He said, for example, that one of the new SOA templates with multiple strategies now contains 24 pages, compared to the 77 pages of the previous template.
The new statement of advice templates will be rolled out across all MLC licensees (Garvan, Godfrey Pembroke, MLC Financial Planning, Apogee) as well as NAB Financial Planning.
