90% of Australians Need Advice — Technology Is How You'll Reach Them

The financial advice profession is at a pivotal juncture, with millions of Australians still not receiving the advice they want or need to enhance their lives or achieve their desired retirement. This stark reality, highlighted in intelliflo's recent whitepaper "Advice, evolved: A new era in Australian financial advice," reflects a market where only one in ten Australians currently access professional financial advice.

But change is on the horizon. The intelliflo whitepaper, which features insights from industry leaders including Angus Woods (Founder, Adviser Ratings) and Nick Topham (Founder, ProductRex), outlines seven transformational themes that will shape the future of advice in Australia.

The Accessibility Challenge

"Fifteen to 20 years ago, we had double the number of people getting advice, compared with today," Woods notes in the report. "At the time, you had the banks and AMP coming out with massive awareness campaigns, which gave consumers a constant reminder about the need to look after their money. No-one owns that space now."

This observation aligns with recent Adviser Ratings data showing that 68% of Australians see value in financial advice, and only 6% are willing to pay $2,500 or more. Today's average advice client is 58 years old and pays more than $4,300 annually, creating a significant gap between service delivery costs and consumer expectations.

Technology as the Foundation for Change

The intelliflo whitepaper positions technology not as a replacement for human advisers but as the foundation enabling a more inclusive, efficient, and client-centric profession.

"Technology won't replace advisers, but advisers who use technology will replace those who don't," says Nick Eatock, CEO of intelliflo, borrowing a quote that encapsulates the coming shift.

While AFLR 2024 highlighted that the profession had seen an impressive increase in recurring client numbers, having increased by 17% from 2020 when each adviser was averaging 83 clients, to 97 clients per adviser in 2024, the intelliflo report reveals that practices leveraging technology can see 40% more clients per adviser – no small gain in a profession struggling to reach scale.

The impact of technology on practice efficiency is demonstrated in the AFLR 2024 data. Practices with comprehensive documented systems report 36% higher revenue per client, 24% faster advice delivery, and a 42% reduction in compliance-related tasks. Such efficiencies are critical when considering that regulatory costs amount to $38,877-$83,877 per adviser annually, as highlighted in a recent Adviser Ratings article.

This efficiency gain is particularly important when considering that 78% of practices reported revenue increases in the past year, with many achieving this growth not by adding staff but by implementing digital solutions that enhance productivity and client service. The correlation between technology adoption and profitability is unmistakable, with the most advanced technology users achieving profit margins of 29% while the highest-performing practices reach an impressive 40%.

Evolving Payment Models

Traditional upfront annual fees are increasingly misaligned with changing consumer preferences. The whitepaper suggests practices must adopt more progressive payment approaches, including:

- Instalment-based payment plans
- Self-service models offering limited advice for free
- Subscription models similar to other digital services
- Partnerships with institutions to provide scaled advice

This evolution mirrors trends identified in the AFLR 2024 report, which found that 55% of practices purposely target specific client types with tailored service models and pricing structures.

The Client Experience Revolution

While technology can help practices, it is not the solution clients often seek. For this reason, as advisers, we need to be aware of behaviours that alienate clients, with the whitepaper identifying several, including:

- Excessive jargon
- Failure to personalise the client journey
- Long meetings
- Irregular communication
- Confusing documentation
- Complex onboarding

Leveraging technology to shift from annual check-ins to regular, meaningful client conversations is already happening among top-performing practices, with digital tools enhancing client understanding and engagement.

Whole-of-Life Pathways by Engaging Young People

Adviser Rating's data cited in the whitepaper reveals that most advised clients begin their relationship with an adviser in their pre-retirement years. However, the profession must develop ways to engage people at different life stages. Successful practices increasingly focus on building relationships at earlier life stages, recognising that intergenerational wealth transfer (estimated at $3.5 trillion over the next 20 years) will reshape client demographics. As a case in point, 22% of clients ask for advice on helping the next generation invest.

The rise of "finfluencers" demonstrates younger Australians' appetite for money guidance. An ASIC survey cited in the report found that almost two in three Australians aged between 15 and 21 had changed their financial behaviour based on tips from a finfluencer.

Moving to an Adviser-Led System

It's important to observe that while access to finfluencers is through social media technology, it is the connection with the person and the trust this builds that leads to younger clients taking action on their financial behaviours. In short, leveraging technology to enhance the personal connection of the adviser is the critical component.

To this point, the report outlines a shift from a compliance-driven model to an adviser-led system, where "innovation begins with the needs of the end client and the adviser, while intuitively building in compliance.

This evolution mirrors what happened in the accounting sector following the introduction of Xero, which transformed accountants from bookkeepers into business community leaders.

One standout example highlighted in the AFLR 2024 is Skye Wealth, which provides risk insurance advice for just $330—a fraction of traditional comprehensive advice costs—while maintaining profitability.

This success stems from a combination of process innovation and clear service boundaries underpinned by strategic technology integration. By maintaining streamlined systems and well-defined parameters that prevent scope creep, these practices create volume-based strategies that successfully serve higher client numbers at lower margins.

The potential market for such approaches is substantial. Research reveals a $27 billion opportunity in potential insurance premiums from under-55s who value advice but find current fees prohibitive. This represents millions of Australians who could benefit from targeted, cost-effective advice solutions provided efficiently by advisers through technology designed to enhance the client relationship.

Conclusion

The intelliflo whitepaper provides a comprehensive roadmap for advice evolution centered on seven key themes, with technology serving as the foundation. As the profession stands at this crossroads, the successful firms of tomorrow will be those that embrace technological innovation while maintaining the irreplaceable human connection at the heart of financial advice.

As Nick Topham frames the challenge bluntly: "Ninety per cent of Australians are not being given advice at the moment. If they're making $65,000 a year, they can't afford $3,000 or $4,000 worth of financial advice. But if you abstract the process and reduce the cost, you can give them something that's accessible."

This transformation can't come soon enough for the nine out of ten Australians currently without advice.

Article by:

Adviser Ratings

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