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18,000 Advisers to be Rated on Consumer Site

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14 October 2014 by RiskInfo

Article link: http://riskinfo.com.au/news/2014/10/14/new-website-lets-customers-rate-their-adviser/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-website-lets-customers-rate-their-adviser

A new website which rates advisers on their qualifications and customer service has been launched to the public, featuring the names of 18,000 pre-listed advisers.

The site, called Adviser Ratings, has been designed to address the “crisis of confidence” that exists among consumers seeking financial advice. 18,000 financial advisers have been listed in the site already, and the public is invited to post a review and rate their advice experience, similar to the way TripAdvisor allows the public to rate travel experiences.

The Adviser Ratings Homepage

The Adviser Ratings Homepage

The brainchild of former CHOICE media spokesperson, Christopher Zinn, and founding member of consumer movement ‘One Big Switch’, Angus Woods, Adviser Ratings was officially launched to the public this week. However, due to technical problems with the website, Mr Woods told riskinfo that individual advisers had yet to receive a direct communication from the service to let them know it was live.

“We have been telling advisers along the way that this is coming. We’ve been working with the advice associations and some core dealer groups, to ensure we have a sound ratings system.

“We will be emailing advisers to let them know that the site is available and how to go about completing their profile,” Mr Woods said.

The adviser information was sourced from publicly available material, including ASIC’s existing listing of authorised representatives. Mr Woods told riskinfo that while there would be some negative ratings or comments posted by members of the public, the purpose of the site was to “shine a spotlight” on the people who are bringing the advice industry forward.

We want to rebuild confidence in the industry and grow the number of people getting advice

“We’ve all been hearing the negative news about advice in the press. There’s also been some negative commentary from people like Alan Jones for example. We’re taking a proactive stance in saying that not all advisers can be thrown into the one bucket.

“We believe in financial advice. We want to rebuild confidence in the industry and grow the number of people getting advice, but you can only do that if you come at it from a consumer perspective,” Mr Woods said.

“We’re not aligned to anyone – this is a free service to try and reconnect advisers and clients.”

Mr Woods encouraged advisers to update their profile, and recommend their clients add their own reviews. He was also keen to reassure advisers that there were strict processes in place to verify and monitor customer reviews.

“I don’t think there will be an influx of bad reviews or that this will result in bad publicity for the advice industry. It’s up to us to manage negative reviews. We have strict moderation processes in place to manage reviews, following the guidelines from the ACCC.

“Where there are a significant number of negative reviews, or if we are receiving feedback that points to poor conduct then we will work with the adviser and their licensee to alert them to the issue.”

Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) CEO, Brad Fox, said he was supportive of the program, and believed it would be a positive thing for the sector.

“We can either get behind it, or we can let it happen to us. We know from the surveys we have conducted with clients that 80% of people with an adviser rate their service very highly. We shouldn’t be afraid of this.

“But where there are negative comments then we need to respond to them. One of the AFA’s core values is accountability, and this is an example of where we can face into some of the negative perceptions that are out there,” Mr Fox said.

About the ratings process

According to the Adviser Ratings website, advisers listed on the website agree to meet the following minimum requirements:

  • Being appropriately licensed
  • Have never been convicted of a crime relating to fraud or financial mis-dealings
  • Have never been bankrupt
  • Have not been banned or disqualified from advising in the last 7 years

The adviser is then rated using three information sources:

  • Industry/Professional body membership – Advisers are scored based on their qualifications and whether they are a member of a professional body
  • Licensee – Advisers who operate under a license that has not had an enforceable undertaking in the last four years are eligible for a 4% bonus score
  • Customers – The customer answers questions in relation to the service they receive from their adviser, which are used to create a score

Click here to visit the site.

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While we may facilitate the review and introduction of Advisers, Customers of Adviser Ratings will be responsible for entering into their own agreement with Advisers introduced through our website. Adviser Ratings does not provide personal financial advice nor do we recommend or suggest a particular adviser is right for you. We provide information of a general nature and we do not take into consideration your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Always consider whether the advice and information you are provided suits your needs. Adviser Ratings does not endorse, accept or adopt the Advisers on our site, the content of any profiles or the comments or discussion in any community forums. For further information about How We Rate Our Advisers, click here. Per quote in our video, refer KPMG research undertaken for Financial Services Council

Adviser Ratings Pty Ltd (ABN 18 154 273 640 ) (AR 466730 ) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of IPraxis Pty Ltd (ABN 39 114 365 007) the holder of Australian Financial Services Licence No. 329337. We are a Sydney based company located at - Level 22, Tower 3, 300 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia

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