Public trust in financial planners and the banks is continuing to be crippled by the fall-out from the Royal Commission, according to new research from Investment Trends.
The research, released this week, has revealed that when asked to rate their level of trust, the average Australian gave financial planners and banks the same rating of 4.8 out of 10 – a level similar to that recorded by the same survey a year earlier.
Commenting on the results, Investment Trends senior analyst, King Loong Choi said consumer trust in financial planners and the banks remained at all-time lows and were hovering in the ‘distrust’ zone.
However, he noted that while confidence in the financial advice industry remained low, Australians were optimistic that changes were occurring for the better with 76% of respondents expecting that regulatory changes would bring about positive and tangible improvements for the industry.
The Investment Trends research suggested that with advisers on the back foot, many Australians were turning elsewhere for information and guidance including the use of online tools to help them in making superannuation, insurance and investment decisions.
“The demand for digital self-help advice tools reflects Australians’ growing range of unmet advice needs, which centre around strategic advice, buying property and post-retirement issues,” Choi said.
“While there is healthy appetite for online advice tools, converting interest into actual usage will require these tools to satisfy a core set of demands. For instance, non-advised Australians strongly prefer tools that blend digital engagement with human assistance, with the younger cohort being most open to receiving human support when using online tools,” he said.
