
The poll of advisers participating in the LIBF webinar Hybrid Advice showed that 52% say it is very likely and 39% say it is somewhat likely that their company would implement a hybrid advice model in the coming years. Just 9% said it was unlikely or not likely.
The in-webinar poll of nearly 260 attendees was one of three during the webinar, with other polls showing that 45% of advisers were with firms already heading down the hybrid route and 42% believed that hybrid advice would result in more advisers developing their knowledge and skills to a Level 6 qualification, as more advisers focussed on complex advice that required a human element, allowing technology to help progress clients’ more straightforward advice requirements.
Webinar panel participant Nick Hall, Head of Advice, Wealth Wizards, comments:
“The poll results are very encouraging and reflect the level of traction that hybrid advice is gaining in the financial advice market. Hybrid advice blends the human touch with digitisation and automation, to create an advice experience the customer would want and expect from their advice firm, particularly following the pandemic where familiarity with digital has increased significantly.”
“It’s clear that both advisers and their clients are already on an advancing technological journey and the pandemic has pressed the accelerator on that change.”
Hall says there are four benefits for clients in delivering advice through a hybrid mode - better engagement with the client through tools such as chat bots; better choice for consumers not looking for the full advice service; broader choice using a multi-channel approach, allowing consumers to still access advice virtually outside of the 9-5; and consistency, with algorithms ensuring advice remains both consistent and in line with the form's advice policy.
There are specific elements where the hybrid model does more 'heavy lifting', says Hall - onboarding, which can be done digitally saving advisers time; fact finding - allowing consumers to complete hard facts digitally and free up advisers to talk more generally about the consumer's needs; and suitability report writing, which can be done in around half an hour using technology.
The end result of letting technology take the heavy lifting, in a real-world customer case study, has been proven to drive down the end-to-end advice process from 35 to nine hours, Hall adds.
Hall concludes: "Where hybrid advice can deliver for financial advice firms is in taking on the heavy lifting of the advice process, allowing financial advisers to focus on the client relationship and the elements of advice that need human contact.”
“This makes use of customers self-serving and the automation of advice processes, letting the financial adviser talk to the customer when they want to and when needed.”
“The financial adviser is at the heart of the advice process; technology should be used to make advisers’ lives easier. It’s looking at the end-to-end process and seeing where technology can take on some of the heavy lifting – we’ve seen end-to-end processes in advice firms that take 35-50 hours to complete. Technology can cut that right down to sub-10 hrs.”
“Hybrid advice provides for a better experience all round. For the customer, who feels the same pain-points in a process as the adviser, and for the adviser, who has more quality time building the relationship with the customer, focusing on client objectives and dealing with the more complex advice issues, as well as having their time freed up to see more customers.”