In a statement, Rest said member interactions with its Rest Online digital advice tools had risen by 252 per cent year-on-year in the 2020 financial year.
Member interest in advice overall had also more than doubled year-on-year, the industry fund said.
Rest said the growth in digital advice interactions was strongest among younger members and women, with 22- to 29-year-olds registering an almost 300 per cent increase in usage of Rest Online year-on-year. Digital advice engagement among 30- to 39-year-olds also more than doubled in FY20.
Among female members aged 22–29, interactions increased by 226 per cent, while women aged 30–39 increased their engagement with digital advice by 153 per cent, the fund said.
“This level of increased engagement with financial advice simply wouldn’t have happened if our digital tools weren’t available. This is clear evidence that people who traditionally don’t engage with advice will do so if you make it convenient and accessible for them,” Rest chief executive Vicki Doyle said.
“We believe all Australians should have access to advice, no matter what their financial circumstances are. This is especially the case with so many more people facing financial insecurity [due] to current economic conditions.”
Ms Doyle said regulatory changes in advice presented a “real concern that advice will become inaccessible to lower and middle-income Australians”.
“With ASIC and the industry looking to digital tools to ensure more Australians can benefit from financial advice, these results should provide encouragement that there is a strong appetite for these services,” she said.
“Many of our members wouldn’t be able to access simple advice about their investment options or the ideal level of contributions if it wasn’t provided as part of their super at no additional cost.”
Ms Doyle said the intra-fund advice offered by the fund across three topics in its digital advice system — investment choice, insurance needs and contribution optimisation — was “not intended to substitute for full advice”.
“The [tools] are designed to provide simple advice on particular topics — such as choosing the ideal investment option — in a convenient and understandable way,” she said.
However, digital advice use had been growing extremely fast for the fund, with 40 per cent of all interactions since the service began in 2017 having been recorded over the nine months to June 2020, Ms Doyle said.
I would be interested to know the actual percentage of members taking up free digital advice. Industry fund commentators tend to crow about their quantitative data from a very low starting point.