‘Forget product advice’, says BGL
SMSF accountants and advisers need to move towards offering strategic advice and forget about product advice to remain relevant to clients in the future, says BGL managing director Ron Lesh.
Mr Lesh said that with many of the developments in technology and automation in the SMSF space, it will become increasingly difficult for advisers and accountants to demonstrate their relevance.
“The ability for a fund or SMSF to be almost fully automated will certainly be here in a couple of years from now – it’s getting closer and closer and it’s not going to matter what kind of assets clients have [in their SMSF],” said Mr Lesh.
SMSF accountants and advisers need to be performing more of a strategic advice role instead and consider what they can provide to clients to help build their super, he said.
“At the moment, the role of [accountants and advisers] seems to be more focused on doing administration and maybe offering a bit of advice here and there along the way,” he said.
“I think their whole role is going to change because they’re really going to have to prove their relevance.”
Mr Lesh said in around 12 months’ time there are likely to be tools to help people invest and allow SMSF trustees to follow the most successful investors.
“Advisers are going to have to be able to say I can help you more than these tools can help you,” he said.
“[SMSF practitioners] need to forget about product advice and buying this share or that share; it’s all about putting together a strategy for an SMSF to follow and I think that’s where they can be important.”
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
