Although 88% of advisers believe there is an advice gap, with 55% describing it as ‘huge’, only 28% see robo-advice as an opportunity for their business. The majority of Nucleus users (53%) are neutral about the threat or opportunity of robo-advice.
In addition, nearly 85% of advisers polled say they are not considering alternatives to face-to-face advice. However 15% are actively looking at alternative models to help address the advice gap and any potential threat from robo-advice.
Nucleus' business development director Barry Neilson believes that robo-advice presents a huge opportunity for advisers to build their future client books, especially the younger generation who are more digitally engaged but might not be currently profitable as face-to-face clients.
Neilson said:
"While face-to-face advice remains an appropriate way for advisers to serve current clients who require a personal service to help them with their complex requirements, robo-advice provides an opportunity for firms to build a strong long-term client book.
"The clients that may today be considered low value and therefore best suited to robo-advice are likely to require more help with their financial planning needs in the future. Rather than dismissing these potential clients completely and losing them to competitors, it makes sense to start building a relationship with this segment now and increase the services offered to them as they face increasingly complex decisions through their lives."