Adviser Ratings launches robo-adviser review platform

Australian consumers are searching for an alternative to traditional advice services and are frequently turning to ‘robo-advisers’ for financial planning solutions.

Yet, there has been no rating system to measure these robo-advice platforms until now, with Adviser Ratings today launching a review register of robo-advisers.

With Adviser Ratings launched in 2014 to help consumers to find, rate and review financial advisers, the company has now expanded to include a register of financial advice “smart tools”, often referred to as robo-advisers.

The review register aims to take the guess work out of a consumer’s decisions around engaging with a robo-advice platform.

Adviser Ratings CEO Wealth Mark Hoven, suggests robo-advice is a game changer in the industry – opening up the investment options of the average Australian.

“There’s no question that the traditional financial advice industry today has an image problem, compounded by the findings from the 2018 Royal Commission,” said Hoven.

“The fact that only 14 per cent of Australians receive advice despite the large majority needing assistance with their finances demonstrates a huge unmet opportunity. We believe the digital financial planning world can start to bridge this gap and have launched a review register of 36 robo-advisers to provide consumers more transparency about this emerging world of finance solutions.”

Robo-advisers leverage the Australian public’s passion for technology and conducting business online, while addressing growing demand by consumers for assistance with their finances. Direct-to-consumer robo-advisers are expected to grow 43 per cent per annum to 2022

“Because these digital tools are breaking down holistic advice into its component parts and delivered through the streamlined anonymity of an online world, they are helping to overcome previous advice roadblocks and providing accessibility to professional financial help for more Australians,” said Hoven.

Digital financial planning tools typically solve a specific need or life-stage-related financial challenge, although some offer comprehensive “advice-in-a-box”. The tools span many areas, assisting with budgeting, financial advice, investing, superannuation and post-retirement services. They are delivered on-line with the personalised user-experience that consumers have come to expect from apps and web-based services used in non-financial facets of their life.

While robo-advisers have been perceived as disruptors of traditional financial services, Hoven suggests the model can work hand in hand with traditional adviser services.

“Given Australians’ love of technology and smart phones, these tools offer significant potential to improve consumer engagement with and control of their personal finances,” said Hoven.