In Practice

From behavioural coaching to asset allocation and emotional support, the evolving role an adviser plays sees them take on a raft of heroic guises. The value of that role is now at least 5.7 per cent of clients’ investible funds according to a new report. 

A long-running study has revealed a raft of information about the way financial services professionals communicate with their clients, as well as four key ways they can improve the discourse.

Some sectors will feel the benefits early, and the impact will be all-consuming. Others will take longer, and the effect might only be marginal. For advisers, the impact of AI could depend on how readily they sidle up to technology partners, Amundi says.

Both in the US and at home, the model portfolio market has matured to the point where most advice firms running managed accounts are in the frame to use customised options.

Public relations executive Abbey Minogue has had remarkable success advising financial firms on content marketing strategies to support their growth. As appetite for content grows, she says, practices that ignore these tools will fall behind.

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.