Zurich highlights advice trends in white paper

In their latest white paper, Zurich has highlighted some changes financial advisers need to make to compete in a quickly changing landscape.

In the age of intelligence, advisers will need to widen their scope of offerings to cater to the growing clientele of millennials, the report says. According to Zurich’s white paper, millennials will soon make up 50 per cent of the working population, and thus be earning, spending and investing.

The white paper is the result of a one-day workshop made possible by futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson and six other members of the adviser and financial services industry.

Richard Dunkerley, head of marketing and communication at Zurich, said financial advice professionals, ‘need to find more ways to broaden their offering and to redefine their value proposition,’ and are ‘lagging behind other sectors in adopting technology.’

Advisers need to start moving away from being technical specialists, and towards being a financial lifestyle coach that understand the nuances of their client’s lifestyle.

In the paper, Crosbie Wealth Management director, Tim Deamer, said, ‘Clients want to be excited about their financial future.’ Tough call indeed, but with innovative approaches from advisers, not impossible by any stretch.

The white paper referenced a global Ernst and Young survey which spelt out that the vast majority of Australians don’t trust banking institutions to provide unbiased financial advice. Trust was created through word of mouth and social media, according to that study.

The paper’s advice? Financial advisers need to develop new methods to engage with the younger demographic and encourage an increased knowledge in financial literacy by using technological tools and apps. In other words, speak their language.