Speaking at a Sydney event, CFS general manager for product and investments Peter Chun said the financial planning industry, which currently offers “above-the-line” services on products such as tax, Centrelink and budgeting, will shift its focus to the personal wellbeing of clients to satisfy changing demands.
“We’re very positive that the role of financial planning going forward is going to start going ‘below the line’ as well, around personal wellbeing, healthcare and aged care, particularly healthcare,” Mr Chun said.
“The role of the financial adviser, their job is to actually make someone feel confident about their financial affairs, and if you’re confident about your financial affairs you’ll tend to be healthier, you’ll tend to be less stressed.
“It’s actually a better risk for a health insurance provider, so if you can join the two about giving good financial advice and looking after someone’s personal wellbeing through healthcare, it’s actually a win-win for everyone.”
Mr Chun further stated that the role of financial advisers will be “more about the lifestyle: not just about how much money you have, but how will you spend it and that livelihood”.
A focus on healthcare can also improve health insurance premiums for clients, enhancing their wellbeing.
“I think we all appreciate there’s a lot of emotions there, a lot of behavioural economics that are really proving that it’s actually people’s psyche and mental wellbeing, so this combination of above the line [and] below the line is going to be really important,” Mr Chun said.
Healthcare advice? I’m going to be very interested in what qualifications the FP industry are going to possess to give health advice. Given their insistence on accountants being properly trained and registered I am assuming that any FP who wishes to dabble in this area will need certified medical training.
Seems to me that some newer younger advisers have not understood what we the older professional adviser have always understood. We have been giving well being advice to clients for 30 years it’s called comprehensive advice, get it? So what has taken you guys so long to figure this out? Extra revenue you think you may gain I guess.
Interesting comment considering the industry is slowly transitioning from the template advice of old being “rollover your super and buy some insurance” to far more comprehensive advice… Id say the change is a lot to do with ‘younger advisers’ actually taking the industry in the right direction from the genuine circus it has been previously.
I will stick with my GP