Beyond the Aston Martin: how digital advice is driving industry change

A factory in Warwickshire, England, has spent the last 111 years building one of the world’s most luxurious cars—the Aston Martin.

Skilled artisans have meticulously handcrafted every single car ever produced. It takes 200 hours to go from one end of the production line to the other. Second—and third-generation skilled tradespeople work meticulously to ensure each car can pass the final inspection, which is sometimes conducted by the CEO.

They produce around 5,000 cars annually, and a new car is started every 26 minutes, compared to a few seconds for mass-market manufacturers. While Aston Martin uses technology, it’s seen as an assistor or robotic tradesperson that is only implemented in steps of the process that are physically taxing.

Most of us view having a car as essential. But imagine if the only cars available were Aston Martins? Imagine not having the option to purchase a basic car that still got you safely from A to B. Until now, this has been the scenario in financial advice.

Financial advisers are a rare and luxurious commodity

Since the Haynes Royal Commission, numbers have fallen to below 16,000. The cost to provide advice has increased, with single-topic averaging $2.5k and complex $4.5k*. Face-to-face advice has become the Aston Martin of the industry—accessible to just 10% of the population.

Yet the other 90% of Australians still need, and have the right to access, a form of affordable transport. And that’s where technology and regulation have finally progressed to allow for mass manufacturing in the form of digital advice. 

For decades, financial advisers have struggled to increase their capacity to provide services to their non-advised clients. Now more than ever, they face issues like:

• Tightening labour markets
• Long lead in time for new advisers to become qualified
• Difficulty finding and retaining good staff 
• Increasing staff costs 

The digital adviser: serving the underserved

Just as Aston Martin uses technology to assist in laborious tasks, advisers can use it to provide value to clients they can never personally serve. Technology, like moneyGPS, can improve the financial outcomes of the majority and allow the adviser to focus on the complex matters of their existing clients. It’s not taking jobs away but creating opportunities and an additional income stream.

Digital advice is: