Where can the financial advisory industry innovate better?

| 03 Sep 2019

The financial advisory space has no lack of innovations. Yet the industry today is not necessarily more empowering and effective than a decade ago. The team at 360F, the top four InsurTech of the Year at the 4th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards, takes a deeper look at the issue to see where the financial advisor industry can innovate better.

The financial advisory space does not lack innovations

Financial planning tools transform from spreadsheets into customer-friendly user interfaces that support goal and scenario-based planning.

Robo-advisors evolve from providing auto-rebalancing services to algorithmically optimised investment recommendations to both advisers and customers.

Aggregation capability helps to consolidate not only the product carriers for comparison but also one’s financial assets constantly updated in one view.

Accordingly, the financial advisory industry today should be more empowering and effective than a decade ago.

A look at the global retirement readiness and mortality protection levels reveals otherwise.

The 2018 Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey involving 14,400 participants from 15 countries across emerging and developed markets yielded, on a scale of 0 to 10, a low readiness score of 5.9. In 2012, the score was 5.2.

As for mortality protection gap, it lags behind economic growth. It is estimated that the world population is underinsured by US$114 trillion. Swiss Re forecasts this gap to increase 0.8% annually over the next six years.

Overall, the global financial wellness, being a composite of mortality & morbidity protection and wealth management, is at dismal levels.

 

Three critical assumptions

To expect that the innovations in the financial advisory space to-date contribute to improved financial wellness, one has to make three critical assumptions – the individual’s financial awareness and literacy, the financial plan’s solutioning and its consistent reviews.

Financial advisory is only embraced when the recipient is aware that he may have a significant problem and has the ability to understand the cause(s).

Your expertise is required. Participate in the survey on financial advisory here: https://360f.typeform.com/to/Y99JpS

The basis of such awareness and ability is a reasonable baseline level of financial literacy which cannot be taken for granted.

Only 30% of the global participants in the 2018 Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey managed to demonstrate correct understanding of compound interest, inflation impact and risk diversification.

Financial advisers will find it worthwhile to first ensure that their customers have a good grasp of the basics, before diving into the depths of needs analysis.

Needs analysis and data aggregation have lately become the favorite innovation space, giving rise to tools competing on sophistication and user experience.

Like how televisions are furniture unless there is content to display, needs analysis tools are mock displays unless there is sufficient and quality data to analyse.

The pre-requisite condition deserves more innovative efforts than there is today. On one hand, customers who have the motivation or sufficient knowledge to use the tools independently are few and far between.

On the other hand, advisers who have the time, skill and aptitude to gain the customer’s confidence to share personal and sensitive financial information with them are also few and far between.

Having entrusted his information with the adviser, the customer naturally expects an analysis of significant value-add and recommendations of decent alignment with the analysis.

The former is typically well taken care of by the needs analysis tools. The latter is rarely assisted by technology, and when there is, it is no more than a shortlisting automation based on high-level product suitability checks.

The recommendation’s suitability may check out but without generating relevant alternatives in all permutations and combinations, subjecting the possibilities through an exhaustive and realistic series of stress-testing and comparing the value outcomes as perceived by each customer in his own way, there is no factual proof that the recommendation is indeed the best one possible to meet the customer’s aspirations and protection needs.


Optimal financial wellness

Constructing the best recommendation possible, or technically known as the optimum, should be of utmost gravity in the advisory process.

Read also: Life insurance: Prepared for a digital future

Financial products require contractual commitments and are intended to meet life priorities. Considering that the customer’s aspirations and needs are typically greater than what his budget permits, his adviser must help him make optimal trade-off decisions. To understand his customer, the advisor exercises empathy. To provide an optimised recommendation and cross the last mile towards financial wellness, the advisor needs the backing of science and technology. The financial advisory industry has to appreciate and embrace the technicalities of optimisation, such as stochastic and behavioural finance models.

The optimal financial wellness is a dynamic state. It changes with life circumstances, good and bad.

Financial institutions find their wallet shares lagging behind customers’ affordability because the touchpoints have been tactical and financial reviews irregular and unproductive.

To keep its fingers on the pulse of its customers, the institution must seek bi-directional interfacing innovations that support an omni-channel journey, beginning with periodic reviews of its in-force business to maximize customer value.
 

Impactful innovations

Impactful innovations are human-inspired, science-backed and technology-enabled.

They augment the human intelligence and enhance the human capabilities to transform and scale the business.

In the next two to three years, advanced science and technology will be applied en masse to the industry, reshaping the nature of the financial adviser’s work. The art of advisory tapping on communication skills unique to humans will make a grand comeback.

 

360F enables data-driven and scalable advisory in life insurance and wealth management with intelligent automation and scientific engagement. Its flagship 360-ProVestment® is the world’s first-ever A.I product recommendation engine for life protection and wealth management needs, enabling advisors and agents to help their customers achieve the optimal financial well-being. Headquartered in Singapore, 360F has to-date financial institutional clients in Southeast and East Asia and the Middle East.

 

Asia Advisers Network and 360F have come together to conduct an industry-wide survey focused on financial advisory in Asia. The objective of the survey is to collect insiders' assessment of the industry, namely how well it has fulfilled its role in the society, its persistent challenges and its untapped potential. With insights from both senior executives and practitioners, this would be the first of its kind survey in the industry in this region.

Find out more about the survey here.


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