Technology could enhance engagement

While technology could help provide a solution to planner concerns around how best to service ‘C’ and ‘D’ clients or deal with opt in, the priority should be on optimising client engagement and the rest will follow, according to Decimal managing director Jan Kolbusz.

Regardless of what legislation is introduced, engaging better with clients on an ongoing basis is a common aim of all financial advisers, Kolbusz said.

Technology that rapidly develops statements of advice (SoAs) or helps planners monitor whether a client has opted in or out and facilitates that process is not the main game, he said.

However, a collaborative tool that incorporates instruments such as online calculators and portfolio management – and can generate statements and reports as well as newsletters – could improve adviser/client interaction, Kolbusz said.

If a client is able to investigate this in their own online account (with or without an adviser) and the adviser is able to view what the client has done, then this could help make the client better informed before meetings with the adviser and enable the adviser to know more about the client’s financial situation, allowing the adviser to spend more time on actual client interaction, he said.

What would normally involve several long meetings – which can be difficult to justify with C and D clients – can happen more quickly because the fact find results from clients having a play around with the system, he said.

All these pieces of technology such as SoA generators, portfolio reporting tools and calculators exist separately, but just need to come together at the one vendor on the same database to drive those efficiencies – a system Decimal is in the process of implementing at several practices and super funds, Kolbusz said.