Liam Shorte, director of SONAS Wealth, said in the latest ASF Audits podcast that one of his major concerns regarding investment options is that in the future, it’s “those who hold your data that are going to be the ones selling you banking products”.
“It’s the Googles and Apples. I know in the States, Apple is already targeting a very high interest rate savings account to people that they have all the data about and what they spend, so they’re able to pick and choose,” Shorte said.
“And believe me, your kids and the next generation, they’ve got no loyalty whatsoever to the banks.”
Shorte said older SMSF trustees, such as those in their 50s, 60s, or 70s, need to realise it’s going to be a difficult market for the big four banks in the future as they are “squeezed” – as is already happening in the mortgage market.
“They’re being squeezed by the brokers and some of them are trying to get rid of brokers now, but in truth, the broker market is going to control where loans are paid and are made in the future,” he said.
“One of the other things I’m seeing is the amount of trustees that used to go from bank to bank trying to get the best rate, the rise of the cash and fixed interest platform that accountants and older trustees love because they get just one source of truth on the reports at the end of the year.
“But for clients to be able to go to one of those platforms that have a range of 20 or 25 different banks and credit unions and be able to move the money without having to prove IDs or give extra copies of trustees to every single one each time, that’s been a great time saver for a lot of trustees who manage their own funds.”
He added this has also been a bonus for advisers to keep track, especially regarding audits where one of the biggest problems is when trustees have put the term deposit in the wrong name.
Shorte added he is also seeing a large rise in investments in ETFs, especially with trustees who used to buy direct shares.
“Now they’re also looking at the option to use ETFs to get diversification and to keep costs down because a lot of these ETFs have really proven themselves.”
“However, one of the things I am also seeing is that any company that comes out with bad news, it’s not just dropping 2 or 4 per cent, it’s dropping 10 to 15 per cent and clients know this is a good stock long term, but begin to get worried about the large drop.”
