Financial planners top advice survey
Financial planners are increasingly the first point of contact for consumers seeking financial advice, according to the latest Financial Planning Association (FPA) survey.
Financial planners are increasingly the first point of contact for consumers seeking financial advice, according to the latest Financial Planning Association (FPA) survey.
According to figures coming from Roy Morgan research, 32.3 per cent would con-sider approaching a financial planner or adviser for financial guidance. This is up 3.5 per cent from the survey in August last year.
Next in line for advice was family (31.5 per cent), accountants (27.9 per cent) and managers of banks, building societies and credit unions (27.9 per cent).
Accountants continue to decline as intended sources for financial guidance, re-cording a two per cent decline over the past three years, according to the FPA.
FPA chief executive Michael McKenna says Australians are now treating financial planners like doctors.
"Just as we pay a doctor to look after our physical health, consumers are aware of the need to employ a professional financial planner to oversee their financial health," McKenna says.
"More and more Australians are recognising that financial planning is a specialist, professional skill."
The figures also show a record number of Australians are seeking advice from qualified financial planners. More than one third, or 36.1 per cent, of people aged over 14 have sought financial advice.
Recommended for you
Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth, while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
Australian investors are more confident than their APAC peers in reaching their financial goals and are targeting annual gains of more than 10 per cent, according to Fidelity.
Digital advice tools are on the rise, but licensees will need to ensure they still meet adviser obligations or potentially risk a class action if clients lose money from a rogue algorithm.
Zenith Investment Partners has lost its head of portfolio solutions Steven Tang after 17 years with the firm, the latest in a series of senior exits from the research house.