Independence and transparency valued by advice clients

The report from the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers found that 73 per cent of Australians said it was very important that their financial adviser is ‘genuinely independent’, while 14 per cent said it was somewhat important and the remaining 11 per cent said it was not important.

Similarly, 84 per cent of Australians said they would more likely invest in a longer-term relationship with a financial adviser if they were ‘genuinely independent’, compared with 16 per cent who said less likely.

As for transparency, 86 per cent of Australians said they would prefer their adviser charge them a transparent fee for their services, compared with 14 per cent who said they would prefer their adviser to continue receiving commissions.

The PIFA surveyed approximately 75,000 people between the ages of 40 and 55 for the report. The survey was conducted immediately following the release of the Hayne commission final report.

“There is huge untapped potential for independent financial advisory opportunities in Australia,” the report said.

“Australians understand and value the benefit of financial advice from genuinely independent professionals which can be paid for via transparent fees.”

Last month, PIFA president Daniel Brammall said the requirement to disclose a lack of independence as recommended by the Hayne royal commission will add to the disruption and confusion already being experienced by advisers.

“These reforms add to the complexity that is already facing advisers, burdened by the FASEA education requirements, the loss of legacy commissions that were supposed to be grandfathered,” Mr Brammall said.

“Then there’s the looming membership of an as yet unapproved code monitoring body.”

ifa released a client experience report similar to the one by PIFA. The findings formed the basis for the Client Experience Workshop, which was recently run in Sydney and will be held in Melbourne on 31 October. To register to attend, click here.

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

You can contact him on [email protected].