In Practice

As platform technology develops, the race to become the one dominant platform for Australian advisers is just heating up. In the US, it’s already well underway, with the number of advisers consolidating platforms rising more than 50 per cent in four years.

The online investment industry is growing rapidly, and a whole new set of providers are offering investors different ways to invest in different markets with low-cost, innovative fee arrangements.

In the AI-fueled rally, some companies will win and others will disappear. But while some parts of the market look hideously expensive, their long-term prospects might justify their valuations.

Advisers now spend a staggering amount on technology in an effort to keep up with efficiency needs and client expectations. Security is still front of mind, but integration is the buzzword for 2024.

The relative lack of adoption in advice isn’t particularly surprising given its volatile nature and the unregulated state of the digital asset sector. But that may be about to change.

Dealing with the complexity of her own UK pension led the adviser to specialising in helping clients to do the same. Since then, she’s become an expert in a field most other advisers shy away from.

You don’t need to invest in the world’s most expensive stocks to benefit from the AI boom, with the sector’s tentacles stretching much further than the chip-making titan according to Martin Currie.

Advisers are uniquely positioned to identify and alleviate financial abuse cases, but they need support and an action framework according to the association.

Artificial intelligence might be better at gathering and storing knowledge, but incorporating wisdom into an investment approach (or abandoning it altogether) remains the exclusive domain of humans – for now.

There are untold benefits in shifting to a self-licensed advice model, but the move also comes with a host of dangers. Practice owners need to ask themselves some serious questions before taking the plunge.

Making a connection is at the heart of any financial adviser’s value proposition, the consultant says. But to do that, the right language must be leveraged to understand what a client’s legacy values truly are.

The task of standing out in a crowded market place is not getting easier for product providers. Generative AI may hold the key, Michael Kollo says.