New app to find your perfect financial planner

A new matchmaking app seeks to hook Aussies up with someone who is good with cash.

The scandals that rocked the financial advice industry during the Royal Commission including fees for no service are an “an embarrassment”, one of the industry’s top dogs said.

But they are working around the clock to clean up their act which includes rolling out a dating-style app to help hook planners up with potential clients, the Financial Planning Association of Australia’s chief executive officer, Dante De Gori, said at lunch in Melbourne today.

Mr De Gori said the industry has a long way to go to improve its reputation and the fallout form the fees-for-no-service scandal was “overwhelming.”

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“The fact that we have removed from a commission model with trail commissions under the FOFA regimen (Future of Financial Advice) to going to a fee-for-service model and not actually delivering on the services for me is an embarrassment for the profession,” Mr De Gori said.

“We cannot be a profession when we don’t deliver on our promises.”

The Match My Planner app rolled out last month will help break down the barriers between Australians trying to seek out a financial adviser suited to them.

Australians can now be matched with their ideal financial planner using a matchmaking style app. Picture: iStock

Mr De Gori said potential clients could choose a planner of their desired sex, age, cost range and locality.

“It will become a true matchmaker and meet consumers’ wants,” he said.

“Consumers want to be matched with someone who understands their situation for example.

“So a 55-year-old doesn’t necessarily want to see a 25-year-old so this is where that app will come into play.”

The service is already available online ahead of the app’s recent launch and gathers information from a client’s personalised profile of money and life goals, not just location.

The consumer then has the control over how many planners they match with and who they would like to match with them.

If either the client or the planner finds someone who is a good fit they can respond to them using the app.

Mr De Gori also said conflicts still existed in the financial advice sector and needed to be “reduced and better managed”.

“But I also want to make the point there is no industry without conflict or business model without conflict,” he said.

There are 26,100 financial advisers registered in Australia.

Mr De Gori said the typical financial adviser is 45 years old, a male with 13 years experience and lives in Melbourne.

The financial advice also remains challenged in delivery of affordable advice to customers with the average cost of a piece of advice about $2400.

@sophieelsworth