Saikal-Skea Independent Financial Advice founder Andrew Saikal-Skea said the issues that the royal commission highlighted around conflicts of interest really “increased demand for independent advice”, however there are an increasingly large number of Australians that just need access to some kind of plan.
“There was this period where you had all of these advisers, a lot of which weren’t really advising, they just had a licence because it was easy,” Saikal-Skea said.
He added: “It’s almost like we’ve cut it to have a kind of higher calibre that’s left, which I think is probably a good thing.
“The other thing for me is that even if we had 10,000 more financial planners, that’s not really solving the need for advice anyway. Whether it’s digital solutions or the limited adviser classes or something like that, what you really need is to be able to get a lot of advice to a lot of people.”
That’s where the issue lies now, he said, with advice firms receiving far more inquiries than they have time to service these potential clients.
“There’s a lot of people that really could afford to pay and would benefit from a plan, particularly a one-off plan, and they just can’t access that,” Saikal-Skea added.
“I think that’s probably the bit that really needs to be solved for, because a lot of those people are just trying to retire and they need a plan to help them do that, and then they miss out.”
While some advisers are hesitant about the ability for digital solutions or limited advice to provide a solution that does more good than harm, Saikal-Skea likened comprehensive advice to a “premium service”.
“For some people, they can have an adviser on call, and you can have that premium service and we’re there all the time, and that’s a great luxury for them, and it can help them become wealthier and achieve their goals and all that kind of stuff,” he said.
“Equally, you can have a premium service that you can access a couple of times in your life. So, you might have a plan when you’re 30. You might have another one a few years out from retirement. You might have another one as you enter retirement, and you’ve gone, well, it’s expensive, but I’ve only accessed it at these three critical junctures, because that’s the only time that I can afford to access this kind of premium service.
“I don’t see necessarily that as a problem, if then in between that there’s digital advice channels or things that are a bit more simple, because having that premium service every year doesn’t make sense for that person. I think that’s a good thing to fill the gap.”
Similarly, he is less concerned about the proposed new class of adviser than some others.
“What’s the alternative? Someone just goes forward with no advice in their life?” Saikal-Skea said.
“I think that if you’re an adviser and feeling threatened by a simple advice service or whatnot, then … probably look at the service that you’re providing and why that’s going to be a problem, because it probably shouldn’t be.”
