đ¤Xplan Hint: DBFO consent comes to Xplan Risk Researcher
Did you know Risk Researcher now enables you to document client consent for insurance commissions? As many of you know, from 9 July 2025, advisers providing personal advice on life insurance will need to obtain informed client consent before implementing advice or receiving commissions. (Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) Act 2024,) Now, you can easily record client consent using the new Insurance Commission Consent (ICC) column in Risk Researcherâs recommendations screen. It allows you to indicate whether consent has been received for each product you recommend. And yes, thereâs new merge syntax available so you can include the details in your documents. This update was the result of conversations with several of you. Many shared that consent would typically be captured in their Advice documents (e.g., ATP) or other consent forms. For more information, check out the community article Meeting DBFO informed consent requirements in Xplan. Now that Risk Researcher supports consent tracking, and lets you include it in your documents, weâre also thinking ahead. Are there other ways youâd like to use this data? Weâd love to hear your thoughts around any other use cases you see for insurance fee consent. Let us know in this thread!
Ask an Expert: We helped an advice practice map out their entire review process, ask us anything!
Have you tuned in to episode 2 of the new Advisely Growth Masterclass series? If not, I highly encourage you to check out the second episode here. To achieve the efficiencies and scale needed to safely grow their business, Twomeys had to make some big back-office decisions. In this episode, the Tangelo team help them systemise their advice processes whilst factoring in compliance requirements and navigate potential risk. This is a live thread to discuss all things relating to episode 2, so we would love to know: What did you think? What did you learn? Do you have any questions for us? Leave them down below and tag us Tangelo Can't wait to hear your thoughts!What is your number 1 requirement when it comes to managing Client Correspondence?
There is no shortage of correspondence and communications between an Advice Practice and their Client. This can come direct from the client, from their accountant, from fund managers not to mention the correspondence created internally within your business. When it comes to managing these documents, there are many schools of thought around 'how to store' and 'where to store' this correspondance. From CRM solutions to Cloud Storage to internal servers to paper! So many factors need to be considered such as ease-of-access, security, cost to the business, and protection from theft or loss. When it comes to managing your client correspondence, what is your number 1 requirement (or top 3 if you can't narrow it down) and what drove you to pick your current method?Is the SOA worth the paper itâs written on?
At more than 50 pages in length, statements of advice (SoAs) in their current form have become unwieldy documents that take at least 6.5 hours to produce and which many clients will never fully read. The shortcomings of the document are not lost on the industry, with a key recommendation of the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) being that SoAs are replaced with advice records that are fit for purpose. With consultation currently being sought on the final design of the replacement, we canvassed a number of advisers to get their thoughts on where SoAs fall short and what needs to change to ensure advice records actually provide value for both advisers and clients. Hereâs how Mat Tenison of TiK Financial Group sees SOAs. âThereâs a lot of stuff in there thatâs not necessary. Clients donât want or need that much detail. Advice should be around what clients want more than what the government thinks they need,â he explains. Tenison goes on to explain that he has to walk his clients through a statement of advice because clients rarely read through them. âI take time to take clients through the entire SOA, but itâs a running joke with clients that they will re-read it when they want to go to sleep.â âIf you go to a doctor, you donât expect them to go through every single health issue, they arenât giving you a document on every virus and why they ruled them out. None of us want that and itâs the exact same for clients that come to advisers,â he continues. Costly and overwhelming The FSC came out in a media statement saying that the current SOA process is adding around $5,000 to a client's bill. Sufficient Fundâs James Millard points out itâs not just expensive, itâs âoverwhelmingâ for clients. âWe encourage them not to focus too heavily on this, and ensure we're there to answer questions as they come up so they don't get lost in the details,â Millard explains. Shape Financialâs Shane Pestonji largely agrees, arguing a lot of the information in an SOA can be removed. âI personally feel SOAâs can be repetitive,â he says. âA lot of the information is quite extensive and difficult for clients to understand, especially those who have basic financial knowledge. How long should a SoA be? One of the main issues with how SOAâs are currently presented is the incredible length of the document. While Tenison still thinks itâs important to go through each page of an SOA to make sure the client actually understands them, it still is a time-consuming process. According to a report by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), these documents are too long and often contain language which a customer will not understand as well as other irrelevant information. âTemplate documents can be helpful, but the financial firm must take care to tailor the language used in the template to the client and delete irrelevant information,â the report says. Tension agrees, saying they should be around a 10-page summary with hyperlinks to more information. Itâs no longer the wild west The number of rules and legislations to protect clients âfrom the wild west days in the pastâ are no longer applicable, with the industry as a whole changing. âThe game has changed⌠the obligations we have, the best interest duties, how we charge clients, itâs all different.â âWhere if you had something short and concise, it would be better for the client, more affordable for the client and would stop advisers leaving the industry,â says Tenison. It has become clear that industry professionals and clients believe that SoAâs need to be reformed. This will not only help more Aussies get financial advice, it will help relieve the pressure advisers currently face.
