The use of online forms provided by myprosperity is up 110 per cent since December 2019 as advisers cut down on face-to-face meetings and go digital.
“For advisers and accountants, the spread of the virus means there’s a forced shift from face-to-face meetings to online ones and they’re having to collaborate digitally, helping small businesses and households brace for tougher times,” said myprosperity founder Peter McCarthy.
“For households, we’ve seen a significant spike in requests around assistance in financial management, retirement and estate planning, highlighting the increase in concern around financial health. These troubling times suggest people are looking for advice to help stem the loss and shore up their financial future.”
The platform has also experienced a 63 per cent uptick in the number of assets added this quarter, while the number of household liabilities increased 74 per cent over the same period. Average daily users and logins are also up.
“A recent KPMG report into fintech supports our belief that households will seek solutions that will connect and simplify their increasingly complex and fragmented digital lives, preferring a trusted platform to orchestrate their financial affairs,” Mr McCarthy said.
“However, a Black Swan event like this has the potential to change behaviour faster and we are already seeing this trend … The pace of change in our industry will accelerate as a result of client demand during this COVID-19 pandemic. By using technology we can streamline workflow management and help ensure compliance processes are more efficient.”
Adviser social network XY Adviser recently started offering free tools to advisers who were opting to work from as the coronavirus worsens, including an all team chat with file uploading in order to streamline workflow.
Meanwhile CFS is still insisting on clients wet signing voluminous hardcopy forms.
It would be tempting to say CFS is unaware of coronavirus, but it’s broader than that. CFS seems unaware of the 21st century.