Macquarie says the new service is intended for “do-it-yourself” investors who want to manage their investments online and are seeking a flat-fee advice service to help them with their decisions.
OwnersAdvisory offers custom advice across a variety of asset classes, including cash, fixed income, equities, commodities and alternatives – all based on an investor’s personal profile, objectives and risk appetite, Macquarie said in a statement.
Macquarie’s move to target investors directly comes after NAB rolled out its free-to-use digital advice platform, NAB Prosper, to 40,000 customers in October 2015.
OwnersAdvisory reviews more than 30,000 investment products around the world to provide recommendations that align with individual investing styles, objectives and risk tolerance, Macquarie said.
Members receive general advice, regular market insights and a portfolio health score for a monthly fee of $45. Customers may also request custom advice to confirm or re-balance a portfolio on demand for $55 per statement.
“We want to encourage unadvised Australians to become more engaged in managing their finances and investments,” Macquarie Wealth Management chief investment officer John O’Connell said.
“Technology is offering investors new opportunities to manage their investment strategies online, and they want quality advice and market insights to guide their choices.
“This is an exciting opportunity for consumers. OwnersAdvisory combines technology with Macquarie’s vast market intelligence, insights and advisory expertise to inform and engage investors currently operating without traditional advice.”
What will be interesting will be answers to the following questions:
Is this use of robo-technology making the financial planner within product-aligned institutions redundant?
Is this the new product sales approach of product-aligned institutions?
Are financial planners becoming more of a liability for product-aligned institutions than revenue generators?
Will this succeed in engaging unadvised Australians to become more engaged in managing their finances and investments?
Will Australians be prepared to pay a flat fee for this online service?
FinTEC is here, nothing will stop it, we being part of IFA got in on the testing of a new service (not allow to say it yet to launch date) and it offers this and more as it is focused around the Adviser and client, their product will help shape the industry in a more productive fashion than just another “give us your money without an adviser” platform like this one
Will this spell the end of advisers supporting Macquarie and MLC wrap ? FinTech will provide opportunities for advisers to buy pass both Macquarie and MLC and this is likely to be the motivation for advisers to do so to save costs to their clients and avoid Macquarie and NAB using these tools to compete with advisors. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you ?