Tech launch to assist with low-touch clients

Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) chief executive Brett Jollie told ifa the group was partnering with platform provider HUB24 to offer new digital tools that had proven successful among ASI’s dealer groups in the UK, where advisers had struggled with a similar regulatory overhaul to that currently playing out in Australia.

“The UK went through a retail distribution review back in 2012/2013 which is in many respects similar to what we are seeing here – the advice community there were required to end commissions [and] enhance education standards,” Mr Jollie said.

“We run our own advice groups over there as well as platforms and investment management, so we recognise a need to provide more efficient digital tools to advisers to help them service clients who otherwise many of them were going to go un-serviced entirely.

“Advisers couldn’t service the number of clients in a fee for service world than they could in a commission structure.

“We created these tools to help them reconnect with consumers who otherwise may have disconnected with their adviser, and drive efficiencies within the advice process and provide them with guided advice solutions at the back end, which has been very effective for the business in the UK.

“There are differences within the markets that we’re working through but it’s a key component with our strategy going forward.”

Mr Jollie said the new technology features would launch under the HUB24 platform later in 2020.

“We’re close, some time in the third or fourth quarter [we] will be looking to go live with this HUB partnership. For that piece of tech it’s open to advice groups sitting under the HUB platform but you need to sign up for it, and over time we will be looking to expand that in a number of ways,” he said.

Mr Jollie said the group would also explore partnerships with super funds to enable them to plug the digital advice tools into member systems to provide simple advice around retirement.

“Retirement is a massive thing, so there’s the ability to partner with super funds to help them service their own members, not only in the accumulation phase but in the decumulation phase of their members’ lives,” he said.