‘Doing things in paper is no longer efficient’ for advisers

Appearing on a new episode of the ifa Show podcast, Asendium CEO and co-founder Scott Miller shared his views on why the advice industry is on the precipice of even more change, particularly as technological advancements continue to be introduced into the sector.

“Since COVID, it's really highlighted that doing things in paper is no longer scalable or efficient to actually deliver quality, cost-affordable advice,” Mr Miller said.

“Planners are now looking to adopt technology more than ever, and licensees are also starting to explore that as well. But we still do have some stragglers.”

When asked about recent debate regarding a move to a digital statement of advice (SOA) Mr Miller said he believes there will be different forms of the SOA “tailored for the individual client”.

“You'll have obviously the paper-based SOA for the older generation of clients. You could have an interactive web-based SOA… I've even heard talks of a metaverse SOA, where you can present an SOA in VR.”

He continued: “You're not going to have a 65-year-old retiree wanting to go through a digital SOA on a computer. They may still want that personal engagement with a planner… so giving a planner options is where we're going to go. We will eventually fully do away with the paper-based SOA, but I still think it's going to be a while.”

Listen to the full podcast with Mr Miller here.

Mr Miller’s comments come after DASH (formerly WealthO2) CEO Andrew Whelan argued that the technology for a digital SOA is “already there”.

“So all of that is available now and advisers are all ready, it's brand new, so they’re sort of thinking, ‘Do I embed this space in my business and will it suit my client base?’” he said.

“But the technology is already there. We already have it.”

To hear more about how advisers could automate systems and processes to increase efficiencies in their business, come along to the 2022 Adviser Innovation Summit on 1 June in Melbourne and on 8 June in Sydney.

Click here to secure your place and don’t miss out!

For more information, including the agenda and speakers, click here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.