Independent financial planners remain the number one choice for consumers looking for financial advice, according to the recent Challenger International/ Assirt Invest-ment Sentiment survey.
Independent financial planners remain the number one choice for consumers looking for financial advice, according to the recent Challenger International/ Assirt Invest-ment Sentiment survey.
About 43 per cent of those surveyed named independent financial planners as a source of advice on managed funds or shares compared to 30 per cent for a stock broker and 23 per cent for accountants.
Only 11 per cent said they would buy and sell directly over the Internet, however, more than one in eight say they use the Internet at least once a week to get investment information. Security worries were the major stumbling block in trading on-line, with more than half the investors who were familiar with the Internet saying they would not use it to trade, or were at least slightly concerned about security.
ASX managing director Richard Humphry says the volume of Internet trading is in-creasing by about one per cent a month, and could push the number of trades to 400,000 within a couple of years.
Since June, he says Internet trade had grown from 7 per cent by volume and 1 per cent by value to 12 per cent by volume and 2 per cent by value.
Challenger International marketing general manager Phill Antman says the study shows investors found the Internet a useful tool in researching share prices and other company information, but work needed to be done on security aspects.
“Until this issue is adequately addressed, perceptions of lack of security will continue to be an impediment to further growth in on-line investing,” he said.
“The implications for organisation wanting to use the Internet to distribute investment products are very clear.”
