FSC launches Digital Advice Expert Group

In April last year, a group of digital advice providers announced plans to form a Digital Advice Association, aimed at advocating for change in financial advice regulation and improving the delivery of digital advice solutions.

On Tuesday, the Financial Services Council (FSC) announced that this group has now joined the FSC to form the Digital Advice Expert Group.

“Digital advice offers new and exciting ways for consumers to access high-quality, affordable financial advice,” said FSC chief executive Blake Briggs.

“The massive opportunity to deliver financial advice digitally is confronted by common challenges posed by a costly and burdensome regulatory framework.

“Independent research has shown that almost 4 million Australians say they would be open to low-cost digital advice solutions, and the digital advice sector can provide services at scale to consumers who cannot typically afford advice.”

The FSC added that the Digital Advice Expert Group’s members share the common goal of ensuring Australians get access to affordable and accessible advice and will “contribute their unique expertise” to the FSC’s policy development to support the passage of financial advice reform through Parliament.

Ignition Advice global head of strategy and corporate services, Andrew Baker, said: “Digital advice technology is the only way to match the huge gap between the demand and supply of advice, and will improve the quality, accessibility, and affordability of financial advice for the millions of Australians who want and need it.

“The Digital Advice Expert Group has a pivotal role in contributing to the formation of policy to support digital advice adoption and we look forward to working closely with the FSC to help shape the exciting future for digital advice in Australia.”

IntelligenceInk chief strategy officer, digital advice, Jacqui Henderson, added that the “guiding vision” is to enable all Australians access to a digital advice service and give them a “greater chance of a financially secure future”.

“Our role is to support the industry in the delivery of advice in a more digitised, efficient and scalable way – solving the age-old problems around complexity and cost,” Henderson said.

George Haramis, moneyGPS CEO and co-founder, said: “It is now crystal clear that the market has accepted digital advice as a mainstream offering, critical to the wellbeing of working Australians.

“As a founding member of the Digital Advice Expert Group, moneyGPS welcomes the opportunity to be working with the FSC, given our common objective is to progress the use of digital advice services across the financial services and superannuation industry, and lead the policy discussion as the technology-lead proposition evolves over time.”