WEBVTT - Could Claude become your financial adviser? 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.340 If you go looking for money advice, you might find 0:00:02.980 --> 0:00:07.530 AI portfolios, totally new product categories, maybe even a few 0:00:07.580 --> 0:00:11.129 influencers promising to make you rich overnight. And meanwhile, a 0:00:11.150 --> 0:00:14.250 lot of investors are feeling quite confident just going it 0:00:14.290 --> 0:00:16.910 alone in the markets. So what is the state of 0:00:16.950 --> 0:00:20.930 investing advice in 2026? And where's it headed next? We're 0:00:20.950 --> 0:00:23.980 here with Erin Avery. She's the general manager of WealthTech. 0:00:24.420 --> 0:00:28.710 And Rick Parry, financial advisor and director at MyNetWorth. coming 0:00:28.750 --> 0:00:30.890 to us from Christchurch Airport where he squeezed us in 0:00:30.910 --> 0:00:33.950 between flights. So we're going to ask them about what 0:00:34.130 --> 0:00:37.650 investing advice really means in our new information economy, whose 0:00:37.690 --> 0:00:41.269 advice is actually worth listening to, and how Sharesies is 0:00:41.290 --> 0:00:42.330 getting into the advice game. 0:00:42.870 --> 0:00:45.879 Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. 0:00:46.260 --> 0:00:49.980 We recommend talking to a licensed financial advisor. We also 0:00:50.060 --> 0:00:53.980 recommend reading product disclosure documents before deciding to invest. Everything 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:56.020 you're about to see and hear is current at the 0:00:56.060 --> 0:00:56.760 time of recording. 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:00.640 Erin and Rick? Welcome to Shared Lunch. If I want 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.330 a personalized investment portfolio and I'm kind of looking to 0:01:04.350 --> 0:01:06.610 go more of a traditional route, I want that prepared 0:01:06.970 --> 0:01:10.190 by a human being who is licensed to give me 0:01:10.250 --> 0:01:13.509 financial advice. What are my options currently? 0:01:14.130 --> 0:01:18.360 So if you're looking for a human financial advisor, then 0:01:18.420 --> 0:01:20.820 you could get in touch with someone like Rick who 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:24.190 will take you through a process of financial planning. They'll 0:01:24.270 --> 0:01:27.230 ask you a bunch of different questions about your financial life, 0:01:27.250 --> 0:01:31.130 your financial position, your family, your goals, all of the 0:01:31.150 --> 0:01:32.830 different things that you want to achieve and how you 0:01:32.850 --> 0:01:35.310 hope your money will help you to get there. And 0:01:35.330 --> 0:01:36.910 they'll take you through that process. And then off the 0:01:36.930 --> 0:01:39.390 back of all of that information, they can recommend a 0:01:39.410 --> 0:01:44.280 truly personalized, bespoke portfolio that suits your needs. You might 0:01:44.310 --> 0:01:47.080 even find an advisor that helps you with your insurance 0:01:47.180 --> 0:01:49.200 or your will or your estate planning as well. So 0:01:50.030 --> 0:01:52.450 That human advice can give you a really full financial 0:01:52.810 --> 0:01:55.490 picture and an investment portfolio off the back of that. 0:01:55.870 --> 0:02:00.350 Now, Sharesies has also recently launched something called an advised portfolio. 0:02:00.490 --> 0:02:02.870 Can you tell us a little bit about how that works? 0:02:03.630 --> 0:02:08.630 Yeah, so an advised portfolio is set up by humans 0:02:08.690 --> 0:02:12.120 as well, but it's more of a digital tool. Both 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.340 the human example and Sharesies advised portfolio are both regulated 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:19.850 financial advice. So they're regulated by the FMA. And there 0:02:19.870 --> 0:02:23.790 are complaints processes and whatnot that support those products. But 0:02:23.810 --> 0:02:27.070 the advice portfolio that she has created is a digital tool. 0:02:27.350 --> 0:02:29.860 So we can take you through a flow online where 0:02:29.900 --> 0:02:32.660 we ask you a few questions about your time horizons, 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:35.300 your goals. And off the back of that, we create 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:38.889 a risk profile for you. And that risk profile determines 0:02:38.970 --> 0:02:42.300 what kind of investment portfolio we recommend for you. And 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:45.940 the investment portfolio that we recommend is a diversified passive portfolio. 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:48.750 But what I think is really cool about advice portfolios 0:02:48.850 --> 0:02:51.570 is that you can also personalize them and make sure 0:02:51.610 --> 0:02:54.370 that they're aligned with your values. So you can take 0:02:54.410 --> 0:02:56.720 that default portfolio that we recommend to you. And if 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.680 you want to, you can sub in ESG screened instruments 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.520 or you can mix in an active fund manager like Milford. 0:03:03.330 --> 0:03:05.130 And you can really make it yours and make it 0:03:05.210 --> 0:03:07.530 in line with what you would like out of your investments. 0:03:07.870 --> 0:03:11.910 Sharesies kind of brought DIY investing to the masses. And 0:03:11.940 --> 0:03:14.220 that is something that has taken off in a pretty 0:03:14.380 --> 0:03:16.240 big way. You know, we've got over a million people 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:20.820 just on the Sharesies platform alone, let alone other investing tools. So, Rick, 0:03:20.900 --> 0:03:24.500 why do people still turn to, you know, a human being, 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.080 a financial advisor to get guidance as well? 0:03:28.660 --> 0:03:30.760 Well, it's a great question and it all comes down 0:03:30.780 --> 0:03:36.420 to circumstance. And as you've touched on, the ability to 0:03:36.540 --> 0:03:41.860 access financial instruments has been phenomenal and continues to get better. 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.830 And the likes of Sharesies have made that much easier 0:03:44.850 --> 0:03:51.630 for consumers to participate and build their wealth via these means, 0:03:51.690 --> 0:03:54.510 which is great. I think why people still seek out 0:03:54.530 --> 0:03:56.950 a human or a professional advisor will be where it 0:03:57.930 --> 0:03:59.930 where a situation starts to get a bit more complex, 0:04:00.190 --> 0:04:07.220 you know, split families, estate planning, more complex scenarios, sale 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:11.300 of a business, you know, inheritance, those kind of conversations 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.440 where there's a, we like to refer to them as 0:04:13.540 --> 0:04:17.120 money in motion events and the critical kind of times 0:04:17.220 --> 0:04:20.810 in one's life where a second set of eyes could 0:04:20.850 --> 0:04:24.630 add a bit more value instead of kind of DIYing it. 0:04:25.029 --> 0:04:26.170 So if we say that there's sort of like a 0:04:26.210 --> 0:04:29.630 spectrum here where there's having a financial advisor in your corner, 0:04:29.690 --> 0:04:33.390 which is a very guided process, and then there's totally 0:04:33.430 --> 0:04:37.110 DIY investing where you're totally going it alone. Erin, why 0:04:37.130 --> 0:04:39.530 did Sharesies see a need for a product that sort 0:04:39.550 --> 0:04:42.180 of sits in the middle here with advice portfolios? 0:04:42.820 --> 0:04:45.960 Yeah, it's really similar to what Rick has said. And 0:04:45.980 --> 0:04:48.160 we've heard it from our customers over the last 10 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.750 years or so that Sharesies has been around. And it's 0:04:50.930 --> 0:04:53.550 just that in some scenarios, people feel like they need 0:04:53.630 --> 0:04:57.089 a little bit more help and more guidance. And I'd 0:04:57.110 --> 0:04:59.600 even go as far as saying that sometimes people just 0:04:59.810 --> 0:05:02.300 want to be told what to do because money is 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.360 like this really emotional and sometimes scary thing. And people 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:08.100 want to know that they're on the right track. And 0:05:08.260 --> 0:05:10.340 we did heaps of work to try and give people 0:05:10.380 --> 0:05:14.070 that confidence by giving them education and guidance that at 0:05:14.089 --> 0:05:15.830 the end of the day, what they really wanted was 0:05:16.089 --> 0:05:19.000 actual advice and to be told what to do. And 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:21.540 so she's went through the process of getting our financial 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:23.940 advice license so that we could take that next step 0:05:23.980 --> 0:05:26.170 and really help people and tell them what they needed. 0:05:26.950 --> 0:05:29.050 And we have seen really good success off the back 0:05:29.070 --> 0:05:31.049 of that. So we have tens of thousands of advised 0:05:31.070 --> 0:05:35.570 portfolios now. People are loving having that direct direction in 0:05:35.850 --> 0:05:39.020 their investment portfolios. And it's really giving them the confidence 0:05:39.220 --> 0:05:41.760 to build a diversified portfolio that they know is in 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:43.419 line with their goals and their risk profile. 0:05:44.290 --> 0:05:46.450 And is it kind of like a set and forget 0:05:46.830 --> 0:05:49.089 kind of approach? Are people just sort of like locking 0:05:49.130 --> 0:05:51.170 it in and leaving it alone? Or is it maybe 0:05:51.210 --> 0:05:54.659 more of a complement to more active investing activity? 0:05:54.860 --> 0:05:56.640 So for some people, it is the core of their 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.880 investment portfolio. It might even be their whole investment portfolio. 0:06:00.420 --> 0:06:03.900 For other people like myself, I have a high growth 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:06.480 advice portfolio, but then I have a few different companies 0:06:06.540 --> 0:06:09.680 and ETFs on the side. So it really depends what 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.300 you're after. If you want like a fully hands-off approach, 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.580 then your advice portfolio is more than enough to get 0:06:14.610 --> 0:06:17.109 you there. But if you have some interest in dabbling 0:06:17.170 --> 0:06:19.030 as well, then you can have your own picks on 0:06:19.050 --> 0:06:20.050 the side if that's what you want. 0:06:20.150 --> 0:06:23.330 So Rick, you have been in this game for a while. 0:06:23.970 --> 0:06:26.789 Have you seen a change in what people want from 0:06:26.850 --> 0:06:31.030 their financial advisor? as access has sort of broadened to 0:06:31.089 --> 0:06:33.110 these like DIY investing tools? 0:06:33.350 --> 0:06:36.240 Yeah, I'm going on just over a decade in financial services. 0:06:36.310 --> 0:06:40.320 So some experience, but still learning every day, which is 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.140 a good thing. Look, I think the consumer is much 0:06:44.220 --> 0:06:49.000 more knowledgeable now and advisors in any industry have to adapt. 0:06:49.220 --> 0:06:51.660 And I think the industry from an advice perspective is 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:55.950 becoming a lot more collaborative than, you know, once upon 0:06:55.990 --> 0:06:58.790 a time you'd show up to an advisor's, um, office, 0:06:58.830 --> 0:07:01.290 they'd write you a 60 page financial plan, which you 0:07:01.330 --> 0:07:02.529 probably wouldn't read. 0:07:02.550 --> 0:07:04.349 Uh, and then they'd tell you. 0:07:04.270 --> 0:07:04.710 What to do. 0:07:04.830 --> 0:07:07.940 So there is definitely a change. 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:10.840 I think the advent of technology has made things a 0:07:10.860 --> 0:07:14.100 lot more accessible. It's made it, uh, hopefully a better 0:07:14.260 --> 0:07:17.940 user experience for clients. And, um, that's, that's something that 0:07:17.980 --> 0:07:21.240 we strive for my net worth. Um, and I think 0:07:21.260 --> 0:07:25.460 just touching on what Aaron said around behavior, you know, uh, investments, 0:07:25.850 --> 0:07:30.790 the instruments are readily available. It's the behavior around market 0:07:30.830 --> 0:07:36.030 cycles and a long-term goal and what the actions mean 0:07:36.470 --> 0:07:39.330 and the impact that has on your lifetime net worth 0:07:40.390 --> 0:07:43.610 is where the advisor. 0:07:43.210 --> 0:07:45.710 Who can kind of bridge that gap is really going 0:07:45.750 --> 0:07:47.030 to add value in the future, I think. 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:52.580 Speaking of market cycles, the markets have been pretty wacky lately. Erin, 0:07:52.690 --> 0:07:55.429 if you were in an advised portfolio, how does that 0:07:55.650 --> 0:07:58.450 respond to this kind of market volatility? 0:07:58.970 --> 0:08:01.650 Wacky markets are a tricky thing, aren't they? And I 0:08:01.690 --> 0:08:04.510 guess that's where an advised portfolio or an advisor is 0:08:04.550 --> 0:08:09.150 really helpful because that advised portfolio sets a path for 0:08:09.180 --> 0:08:12.630 you to be on. our portfolios come up with an 0:08:12.750 --> 0:08:15.590 asset allocation that is fit for your goals. So that 0:08:15.630 --> 0:08:18.620 might be, if you're a growth investment, 80% of your 0:08:18.630 --> 0:08:21.580 portfolio would be in stocks and 20% of your portfolio 0:08:21.620 --> 0:08:24.760 would be in cash and bonds. And as markets get 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:27.660 a little bit wacky, those asset allocations can get a 0:08:27.700 --> 0:08:30.440 bit out of whack. So for example, if the stock 0:08:30.460 --> 0:08:33.160 market was going really well, then the proportion of your 0:08:33.210 --> 0:08:37.610 portfolio that's in stocks might grow to 81%, 82%, 83%. 0:08:37.610 --> 0:08:40.490 And if that's left unchecked over time, it can mean 0:08:40.530 --> 0:08:42.930 that your risk profile drifts into something that was never 0:08:42.990 --> 0:08:45.910 intended or recommended for you. So, for example, you could 0:08:45.929 --> 0:08:48.650 drift from a growth portfolio into a high growth portfolio 0:08:48.690 --> 0:08:52.429 because your asset allocation has changed with the markets. What 0:08:52.790 --> 0:08:56.510 advised portfolios do is that they rebalance. And rebalancing means 0:08:56.610 --> 0:08:59.460 that your asset allocation is returned to what we initially 0:08:59.500 --> 0:09:02.200 advised you. And we'll do that on a quarterly basis 0:09:02.260 --> 0:09:04.320 or whenever you make a buy or a sell. And 0:09:04.340 --> 0:09:07.239 that just means that instead of that portfolio drifting into 0:09:07.260 --> 0:09:09.480 something that wasn't intended for you, it's returned to that 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:13.679 initial allocation. And I think that's really good during these 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:15.850 wacky markets because it means that you can just stay 0:09:15.870 --> 0:09:19.730 the course and trust that your portfolio is performing as expected, 0:09:20.250 --> 0:09:22.510 everything's taken care of, and that you don't need to 0:09:22.550 --> 0:09:25.630 worry or make any knee-jerk reactions about what might be 0:09:25.670 --> 0:09:29.630 happening in the markets. Everything is taken care of for you. 0:09:30.929 --> 0:09:33.239 And how about for you, Rick? Are these kind of 0:09:33.260 --> 0:09:36.480 market conditions changing the conversations that you are having with 0:09:36.580 --> 0:09:40.140 your clients around diversification or portfolio construction? 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:43.939 Look, I think market uncertainty is something we can't control. 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:47.619 It's the new, well, I guess it's just normal. It 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:53.290 doesn't necessarily change the conversation. It just changes the direction 0:09:53.330 --> 0:09:58.370 of travel, I suppose, where we've got an accumulation strategy 0:09:58.630 --> 0:10:02.740 for someone who's growing their wealth. that volatility is actually 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:06.300 really important for. Because as Aaron touched on, that rebalancing 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:09.939 effectively sells some of your winners and buys some losers 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.800 and rebalances out and keeps you balanced as you dollar 0:10:12.820 --> 0:10:15.700 cost average through your accumulation. 0:10:15.780 --> 0:10:16.620 Phase of life. 0:10:17.970 --> 0:10:20.069 Where things start to get a bit uh i'll call 0:10:20.110 --> 0:10:23.490 it a bit more wacky is um that the gap 0:10:23.550 --> 0:10:27.069 between we're thinking about retirement or that transition into a 0:10:27.130 --> 0:10:31.330 preservation or um or the phase where you might actually 0:10:31.370 --> 0:10:34.990 be utilizing assets so we we look at it from 0:10:35.030 --> 0:10:37.710 around the age of 55 where people should start thinking 0:10:37.770 --> 0:10:41.620 about how their assets are structured and how their portfolios 0:10:41.670 --> 0:10:45.160 are structured and and how volatility plays a path on 0:10:45.179 --> 0:10:50.130 that because you know um There is this catalyst at 0:10:50.350 --> 0:10:54.120 age 65 where we can access KiwiSaver, where we access superannuation. 0:10:54.300 --> 0:10:57.640 But for most people, particularly now, they might not be 0:10:57.700 --> 0:11:01.500 retiring at 65. So they might live another 30 years 0:11:01.540 --> 0:11:05.520 in retirement. So it's not necessarily a time to think 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.140 volatility is a bad thing. It's just a chance to 0:11:08.179 --> 0:11:11.030 think about how you structure your assets, particularly, or you 0:11:11.070 --> 0:11:13.530 may look at it from a bucketing approach or just 0:11:13.890 --> 0:11:16.290 a certain purpose for certain assets through time. 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.579 Now, OK, bit of a pivot. Anthropic has recently announced 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:24.940 their sort of official entry into financial services. Do we 0:11:24.980 --> 0:11:28.070 think it's possible that there might be a future coming 0:11:28.110 --> 0:11:30.829 where AI could be your financial advisor? 0:11:31.070 --> 0:11:33.150 Sort of as Rick was speaking about, money is this 0:11:33.290 --> 0:11:38.090 emotional thing and volatility can be scary and volatility can 0:11:38.809 --> 0:11:42.359 create uncertainties in how you should act. And I think 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:44.940 that having a human connection and someone that you can 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:48.020 turn to in those moments of uncertainty is always going 0:11:48.070 --> 0:11:50.750 to be really, really important. I think AI will be 0:11:50.929 --> 0:11:54.689 great at making advisors even speedier and more efficient in 0:11:54.730 --> 0:11:56.850 the work that they do. And I think AI will 0:11:56.890 --> 0:12:01.449 be great at serving up information about people's financial position 0:12:01.470 --> 0:12:04.350 and decisions that they could make. But I think at 0:12:04.390 --> 0:12:06.850 the end of the day, people love that human connection 0:12:06.910 --> 0:12:09.010 and the confidence it gives them when they're making decisions 0:12:09.250 --> 0:12:11.740 about their money. And money is so important to how 0:12:11.780 --> 0:12:13.640 your life plays out and the choices that you have. 0:12:13.730 --> 0:12:16.290 So it's something that you want to make sure that 0:12:16.309 --> 0:12:18.630 you're making the right decisions and you have someone that 0:12:18.650 --> 0:12:20.430 you can turn to in those moments of need. So 0:12:20.450 --> 0:12:23.630 I think AI will definitely change the way we get 0:12:23.690 --> 0:12:26.130 advice and the way that advisors work, but I definitely 0:12:26.450 --> 0:12:28.650 can't see it replacing human advisors. 0:12:29.390 --> 0:12:32.780 I think it's just going to enable a better experience 0:12:32.820 --> 0:12:35.460 for both the consumer and the advisor. I think advisors 0:12:35.500 --> 0:12:40.989 should be leaning into technology. In our practice, I mean, 0:12:41.050 --> 0:12:45.890 my co-founder effectively built out our kind of engine, which 0:12:46.670 --> 0:12:49.120 strips out about 80% of the burden that came with 0:12:49.140 --> 0:12:52.260 the financial advice process. So for us, we're super lean, 0:12:52.300 --> 0:12:55.699 we're efficient because of technology, but that only means that 0:12:55.740 --> 0:12:59.679 we can then have better experiences, better time, conversations with clients, 0:12:59.740 --> 0:13:04.719 which we think leads to better outcomes. So we're very 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:06.979 much at the end of the spectrum where we encourage it. 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:11.340 I know the regulator is wanting more advisors to lean 0:13:11.380 --> 0:13:11.750 into it. 0:13:13.059 --> 0:13:14.059 It's just a matter of how. 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.840 I think one of the concerns is probably just around 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.840 the accuracy of data or the outputs. So if people 0:13:21.940 --> 0:13:27.050 are just fully using AI to craft their financial plan, 0:13:27.070 --> 0:13:31.250 I would hazard a guess it would be pretty accurate, 0:13:31.350 --> 0:13:34.590 but there's no guarantee they tend to tell you what 0:13:34.630 --> 0:13:37.590 you want to hear. So that's where a human can actually, 0:13:37.850 --> 0:13:42.320 and I'll go a bit further to say a qualified 0:13:42.340 --> 0:13:46.920 human can actually stress test the outputs of what you're 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:50.380 asking your AI to give you something that's a bit 0:13:50.420 --> 0:13:51.939 more in tune with what you're looking for. 0:13:51.980 --> 0:13:54.679 Did you say the regulator is wanting advisors to sort 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.110 of lean into this? Can you tell us a little 0:13:57.120 --> 0:13:57.760 bit more about that? 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:02.090 We're in a really unique industry where our regulator actively 0:14:02.130 --> 0:14:08.990 engages with the industry and encourages innovation. One of the 0:14:09.030 --> 0:14:11.210 issues that we have in New Zealand is access to 0:14:11.250 --> 0:14:16.130 financial advice, and that is what the regulator is trying 0:14:16.150 --> 0:14:20.229 to curb. So as you kind of led with at 0:14:20.270 --> 0:14:24.010 the start, traditionally you'd meet with an advisor and you 0:14:24.030 --> 0:14:26.510 might have a couple of meetings and then That process 0:14:26.550 --> 0:14:28.300 might take a few weeks and they will write up 0:14:28.340 --> 0:14:31.580 a financial plan and that might cost you a small 0:14:31.620 --> 0:14:35.660 fortune and take a few weeks to kind of implement. So, 0:14:36.740 --> 0:14:39.470 you know, a lot of people don't know where to start. 0:14:39.490 --> 0:14:40.020 They don't know. 0:14:40.490 --> 0:14:42.070 They may not have the means or think that they 0:14:42.110 --> 0:14:44.530 have the means to be able to access financial advisors. 0:14:44.910 --> 0:14:48.310 And the regulator is actively trying to say, well, what 0:14:48.330 --> 0:14:52.390 are different ways such as, you know, she's advised portfolios. 0:14:52.990 --> 0:14:56.330 To get an entry level, to get people going and. 0:14:56.550 --> 0:15:00.590 Start that conversation around taking advice to help your financial future. 0:15:00.770 --> 0:15:05.800 What about these kind of financial influencers, finfluencers as we 0:15:05.820 --> 0:15:08.300 hear them called? There's a lot of these people online 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:10.940 kind of claiming that maybe they have all the answers 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.760 about how to get rich. Are any of these people 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:16.540 worth listening to? How do we figure out whose advice 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:17.840 is trustworthy? 0:15:17.860 --> 0:15:21.150 I think there are a lot of really great influences 0:15:21.310 --> 0:15:23.430 online as well. There are people that are really just 0:15:23.490 --> 0:15:27.550 trying to provide education and guidance to people. So I 0:15:27.570 --> 0:15:31.190 wouldn't say that you should ignore everyone online, but I 0:15:31.230 --> 0:15:33.430 think if you do see something online that you're a 0:15:33.450 --> 0:15:35.880 wee bit unsure about, you should always consider what their 0:15:35.910 --> 0:15:38.890 motivations are. Are they trying to sell you something? Are 0:15:38.910 --> 0:15:40.580 they trying to sell you a course? Is there some 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:42.540 way that they're trying to make money out of you? 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:45.780 And really question what those motivations are before you choose 0:15:45.820 --> 0:15:50.180 to follow their advice. The other thing to probably remember 0:15:50.220 --> 0:15:56.140 is that most often, influencers online aren't regulated financial advisors. 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:58.520 So if you were to follow their advice and something 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:02.330 did go wrong, there's really no path for recourse there. 0:16:02.410 --> 0:16:04.690 The safest place to get financial advice is always going 0:16:04.710 --> 0:16:06.310 to be a regulated financial advisor. 0:16:06.330 --> 0:16:11.550 Under part of licensing to become a financial advisor, there 0:16:11.590 --> 0:16:15.800 are certain regulatory standards that advisors have to meet. to 0:16:15.860 --> 0:16:18.440 meet and one of those is providing disclosure so if 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.540 you are providing advice to somebody you have to disclose 0:16:21.820 --> 0:16:24.940 you know how you're remunerated how what conflicts if any 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:28.920 exist um and so i would you know if you 0:16:28.940 --> 0:16:31.660 are going down the path of of checking or following 0:16:31.700 --> 0:16:35.080 some advice um i i would look at you know 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.220 is this person regulated on the fspr which is the 0:16:38.500 --> 0:16:44.700 financial services provider register register um and you know what 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:47.250 are they actually What is the scope that they can 0:16:47.290 --> 0:16:50.270 actually advise on? And, you know, is there a conflict here? 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.880 And have they disclosed that conflict because of the advice 0:16:52.890 --> 0:16:53.860 that they're providing? 0:16:54.100 --> 0:16:57.080 Now, we're also kind of introducing like a new way 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:01.420 that Sharesies is getting into the world of advice today. Erin, 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:02.940 can you tell us a little bit about how Sharesies 0:17:02.980 --> 0:17:04.940 is starting to work alongside advisors? 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:09.159 Yeah, so we've sort of spoken about this a bit already, 0:17:09.260 --> 0:17:12.840 but we know that we need to improve access to 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:15.000 advice like the FMA is keen for us to do. 0:17:15.510 --> 0:17:17.570 And so we are building out these digital tools like 0:17:17.609 --> 0:17:21.690 advice portfolios that anyone can access. But we also know 0:17:21.770 --> 0:17:24.930 that money can get more complicated than a digital tool 0:17:24.970 --> 0:17:27.650 can deal with. Some of those examples that Rick spoke about, 0:17:27.710 --> 0:17:30.490 like maybe you've had a business sale or an inheritance, 0:17:30.570 --> 0:17:32.649 maybe you've got a split family, maybe you've got a 0:17:32.730 --> 0:17:35.870 bunch of different goals that you want investment portfolios to support. 0:17:36.730 --> 0:17:39.430 And in those moments, then you really need the advice 0:17:39.470 --> 0:17:42.850 of a human advisor. And we want to support that 0:17:42.890 --> 0:17:45.369 experience for our She's These customers as well. So what 0:17:45.390 --> 0:17:47.530 we're building at the moment is a way for our 0:17:47.550 --> 0:17:51.480 customers to invite their financial advisor into their Sharesies portfolio. 0:17:51.500 --> 0:17:54.220 And that advisor will then be able to view and 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.840 manage their investments. And they'll be able to sit alongside 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.200 you inside that portfolio and inside your wealth app. So 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.810 you can have their support within that Sharesies experience that 0:18:03.890 --> 0:18:06.750 you know and you love today. So really, we're just 0:18:06.790 --> 0:18:10.020 trying to help people, help meet people wherever they're at. 0:18:10.310 --> 0:18:12.310 whether that's a digital tool to get them started with 0:18:12.330 --> 0:18:14.609 their investing, or they already feel pretty confident in the 0:18:14.630 --> 0:18:17.610 decisions they're making. Or if something's happening in their life 0:18:17.650 --> 0:18:19.950 that needs just a little bit more support, we want 0:18:20.010 --> 0:18:22.169 to link them up with a financial advisor that can 0:18:22.210 --> 0:18:23.570 see them through that situation as well. 0:18:24.070 --> 0:18:26.619 And Rick, you're one of the first advisors who's helping 0:18:26.650 --> 0:18:28.710 Shazies to kind of get this off the ground. Can 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:30.800 you tell us a little bit about how you're kind 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.119 of seeing that in your practice? 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:37.030 Well, it's all about changing the way in which we 0:18:37.070 --> 0:18:41.290 can access and meet people where they need us. And 0:18:41.750 --> 0:18:44.389 if you think of it from, I guess, an enterprise level, 0:18:44.410 --> 0:18:48.570 there's price points attached to these different things. So having 0:18:48.609 --> 0:18:52.590 different service levels for different, I guess, client needs is 0:18:52.630 --> 0:18:56.320 super important. And the way that we kind of run 0:18:56.380 --> 0:19:00.160 our business, we are definitely an advice business, but we're 0:19:00.220 --> 0:19:03.300 also a technology business and we lean on our technology 0:19:03.340 --> 0:19:07.970 heavily so that we can provide better advice and ultimately 0:19:08.030 --> 0:19:11.610 we want to provide transformational financial planning to more New 0:19:11.630 --> 0:19:13.620 Zealanders and we want to meet them where they need 0:19:13.690 --> 0:19:18.600 us so talking with Sharesies has just extended this kind of. 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:23.260 This thought or a part of our business that we. 0:19:23.180 --> 0:19:30.330 Felt needed to be addressed around a platform and being 0:19:30.369 --> 0:19:32.950 able to do things in a succinct way that makes 0:19:33.010 --> 0:19:34.149 the client experience much. 0:19:34.070 --> 0:19:38.369 Better And my final question, where do both of you 0:19:38.710 --> 0:19:42.540 see financial advice going in New Zealand? Do you think 0:19:42.580 --> 0:19:46.790 it's more about relationships? Is it going to be more digital? 0:19:46.869 --> 0:19:49.470 Is it going to be more algorithmic? How do you 0:19:49.490 --> 0:19:53.160 see that being? delivered 10 years and beyond into the future? 0:19:53.180 --> 0:19:56.159 I think the industry has done a great job lifting 0:19:56.280 --> 0:20:00.639 our minimum standard for financial advisors. So currently to provide 0:20:00.700 --> 0:20:04.760 financial advice, you have to meet what they call a 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:11.030 level five certification level. where it will ultimately get to, 0:20:11.270 --> 0:20:14.760 and there's roughly 10,000 financial advisors in New Zealand, which 0:20:14.820 --> 0:20:17.940 is great. And it's increasing year on year in terms 0:20:18.020 --> 0:20:21.480 of the financial advisors joining the industry, which is a 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:26.680 positive sign, particularly when we talk about access and being 0:20:26.900 --> 0:20:31.400 available to people. Where I think it will head is 0:20:31.740 --> 0:20:33.920 to move more towards professional standard. 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:35.649 And if you think. 0:20:35.530 --> 0:20:38.730 About, there's this minimum standard we've got at the moment, 0:20:39.550 --> 0:20:42.610 the kind of pinnacle is what's called a certified financial planner. 0:20:43.050 --> 0:20:48.650 There's only 225 or so CFPs in New Zealand. And 0:20:48.710 --> 0:20:51.590 ultimately that is more of a holistic kind of broader 0:20:51.670 --> 0:20:55.109 view on your financial position. So as opposed to a 0:20:55.850 --> 0:20:59.399 financial advisor, you might, who specializes in one discipline, it 0:20:59.450 --> 0:21:04.260 might be mortgages or insurance or KiwiSaver, for example, a 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:07.820 CFP can really look at all those things provided they've 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:11.190 got scope to do it. and provide you a more 0:21:11.230 --> 0:21:14.950 holistic view on your total position. And I think moving forward, 0:21:15.710 --> 0:21:20.590 when you seek out a lawyer or an accountant, you're 0:21:20.630 --> 0:21:25.990 wanting them for a specific professional purpose. And I think 0:21:26.170 --> 0:21:29.260 that's where I see a financial advisor will sit. 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:31.140 They'll be a professional. 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:35.260 Standard that's embedded with a family and hopefully can aid 0:21:35.300 --> 0:21:39.730 their wealth creation and transfer over their lifetime? 0:21:40.210 --> 0:21:42.189 It's a great question. And I think the answer is 0:21:42.410 --> 0:21:46.030 all of those things. So we have this great technology 0:21:46.070 --> 0:21:47.939 with AI, and I think that will help us to 0:21:47.980 --> 0:21:52.680