Summary - Advice 2030 1

Financial advice in Australia has undergone massive change over the last decade, shaped predominantly by regulatory reform and shifting legislative requirements. In response, many advice practices have invested enormous time and energy into compliance, process changes, and retooling their businesses. Although regulatory demands remain ongoing, a new horizon of opportunities—and challenges—has emerged, driven by broader economic, social, and technological developments.

A recent report, Advice 2023: The Big Shift, jointly produced by Deloitte Access Economics and Iress (and discussed in a podcast featuring experts Dean Sanders and John O’Mahony from Deloitte), highlights seven “mega trends” that will profoundly alter how, why, and to whom advice is provided. These trends are greater than any single piece of legislation, and they move the focus from merely “how we do things” to “what we do”—and even more fundamentally, “why we do it.”

This article synthesizes insights from that discussion into a single, forward-looking overview of the sector. More importantly, it emphasizes the essential role of professionalism and ethics in shaping a sustainable future. As financial advice evolves into a new era of data-driven, relationship-centric, and more holistic practice, advisors will need to engage proactively and ethically to serve the changing needs of Australians.

1. The Research at a Glance

1.1 Methodology and Scope

Deloitte Access Economics partnered with Iress to produce Advice 2023: The Big Shift. The team assembled over 70 sources of research, surveys, and market data. They also conducted in-depth interviews with both practicing advisors and leaders in financial services technology.

The resulting analysis focuses on seven large-scale societal and economic shifts—or “mega trends”—that stand to transform financial advice. These trends were selected because each one:

1. Has a clear impact on either the complexity of advice or its personalization.
2. Creates new implications for consumer demand, business models, and advisor profitability.
3. Reflects external forces—technological, demographic, or environmental—rather than purely regulatory changes.

1.2 Surprising Findings

Amid the well-known fact that advisor numbers shrank dramatically in recent years, the research uncovered robust profit margins for surviving firms—on par with levels before the Hayne Royal Commission. Perhaps more importantly, despite all the compliance pressures, consumer demand is not only intact but escalating. Many financial advisors now face more leads than they can readily service, pointing to a crucial capacity problem—one that could present a golden opportunity if addressed ethically, efficiently, and innovatively.

2. Four Strategic Choices for Advisors

Before diving into the seven mega trends, it is helpful to frame the four key choices that The Big Shift report recommends every advisory business consider:

1. Who: Identifying the types of clients an advisor wants to serve. Which demographic or psychographic segments best align with the practice’s values, expertise, and service model?
2. What (Specialization): Determining how (and to what extent) the advice offering might deepen or broaden. Will you be known for comprehensive lifestyle-based planning, or for specialized investment expertise, or for retirement strategy alone?
3. How (Business Model): Defining the structure of your practice, including technology use, staffing, and partnership arrangements. Will you embrace a holistic, multi-disciplinary model or focus intently on high-net-worth individuals?
4. Technology: Selecting the tools and platforms to increase capacity and deliver client-centric experiences. How will AI, automation, or specialized software form part of your offering?

By exploring each of the seven mega trends in light of these four choices, advisory firms can chart a path that meets client needs while upholding the highest standards of professionalism and ethics. Rather than passively waiting for more regulation, advisors are encouraged to be proactive, choose the clients and services they will focus on, and design a future-ready practice.

3. The Seven Mega Trends

3.1 Skyrocketing Retirement Demand

Overview: Australia’s population is aging. A large cohort of baby boomers is moving from accumulation to drawdown, intensifying the need for retirement-focused advice. This shift has far-reaching effects—on everything from superannuation funds to housing, aged care, and inheritance strategies.

Implications for Advisors:

• Evolving Products and Advice Needs: Retirement is no longer a linear “end date” to working life. Increasingly, individuals and couples phase out of employment gradually, mixing part-time roles with partial super drawdowns.
• Cash Flow Complexity: Advisors may need to help clients manage intricate cash flow issues during retirement. Unlike the “set-and-forget” days of defined-benefit pensions, retirees now face highly flexible (and sometimes confusing) choices around decumulation, spending patterns, and lifestyle goals.
• Professionalism and Ethics: Advisors providing retirement advice should remain vigilant about a client’s capacity to understand the complexities of retirement products. Clear, jargon-free communication is critical. Ethically, an advisor must make sure clients neither underspend out of fear nor overspend out of misunderstanding. Balancing these aspects helps preserve trust.

3.2 The Intergenerational Wealth Transfer

Overview: An estimated $3.5 trillion in wealth is projected to change hands in Australia over the coming decades. Terms like “the gray tidal wave” highlight that this shift is more of a cascade of complexities than a simple, linear handover of assets.

Implications for Advisors:

• Family Dynamics: Adult children often have vastly different financial preferences and risk appetites than their parents. Without guidance, family conflict or elder financial abuse can arise when substantial assets or property are at stake.
• Service Beyond the Individual: Providing multi-generational or family-based services may become a valuable differentiator. Facilitating open discussions about powers of attorney, estate planning, or philanthropic goals can be just as important as portfolio management.
• Ethical Considerations: When several family members are involved, conflicts of interest can arise. The advisor’s role as a neutral yet empathetic facilitator demands a strong ethical compass. Documenting and communicating potential conflicts or biases becomes even more critical.

3.3 The New Australian Dream

Overview: Historic models of property ownership are being redefined. Homeownership, once a near-certain path to building wealth, is no longer guaranteed for a growing share of the population. Rising property prices and structural changes in the market have created a new dilemma.

Implications for Advisors:

• Renting as a Norm: More middle-aged Australians may never own property. This change alters how they accumulate and preserve wealth. Advisors can help clients identify alternative strategies, such as higher allocations to equities or other assets.
• Lifestyle and Longevity: Retirement planning usually assumes a debt-free home. If that assumption no longer holds, advisors need fresh strategies for dealing with possible rent obligations or partial homeownership models.
• Professional Responsibility: Navigating clients away from a purely property-centric worldview calls for thorough market knowledge and a duty to present balanced, fact-based perspectives. Advisors must ethically evaluate how real estate (or a lack thereof) fits into a long-term plan without projecting personal biases about homeownership.

3.4 The Digital Delivery of Everything

Overview: While the advice industry has discussed “tech stacks” and automation for years, the consumer environment is now even more digitally driven. Clients—particularly younger ones—expect frictionless, anytime access.

Implications for Advisors:

• Beyond Efficiency: Technology should not be limited to in-house streamlining. It must enhance the client’s experience, from online onboarding to interactive goal tracking.
• Generative AI and Real-Time Analysis: Tools that sift through vast data to produce preliminary advice scenarios are already emerging. Advisors must understand these technologies and apply them responsibly—always ensuring client best interests remain paramount.
• Ethical and Professional Transparency: With digital tools comes data capture. Advisors have a fiduciary and ethical duty to protect client data. Additionally, disclaimers about algorithmic limitations and potential biases are part of a responsible approach.

3.5 Environmental Volatility and Natural Disasters

Overview: Wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters have grown in frequency and severity. Insurers are raising premiums or withdrawing coverage. Coastal erosion and flood-prone zones may become uninsurable.

Implications for Advisors:

• Risk Management Complexity: Advisors can expect more in-depth discussions around home insurance, asset protection, and disaster planning. A typical retirement “sea change” or “tree change” might carry bigger financial risks than before.
• Changing Investment Returns: Broader macroeconomic effects include shifting property values and reallocation of capital toward sectors resilient to climate change.
• Professional and Ethical Dimensions: Advisors have a duty of care to help clients assess environmental risk realistically. Rather than dismissing or downplaying these issues, an ethical advisor addresses them, ensuring that client decisions are informed and values-aligned.

3.6 Riding the Green Wave

Overview: Ethical and sustainable investing has moved from a niche preference to a mainstream expectation for many investors—particularly younger clients.

Implications for Advisors:

• Purpose-Driven Portfolios: More clients want their investments to reflect personal or environmental values. Advisors who dismiss this trend risk losing trust (and business).
• Product Complexity: ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and sustainable funds vary widely in their methodologies and holdings. Advisors must conduct thorough due diligence to ensure products match client priorities.
• Ethical Credibility: Ethical investing can be fraught with “greenwashing.” Advisors must take extra care to verify a fund or product’s credentials, balancing returns with integrity. Transparency in research and product selection is paramount.

3.7 Digital Assets and Product Proliferation

Overview: The rise of cryptocurrency is just one aspect of a broader shift toward “borderless,” entirely digital investments. Tokenized assets, fractional investments, and platforms that facilitate direct overseas trades are all becoming more accessible.

Implications for Advisors:

• Meeting Clients Where They Are: A large proportion of millennial and Gen Z investors have tried or currently hold cryptocurrency. Advisors who categorically reject any conversation about these assets may alienate younger (and even some older) clients.
• Enhanced Expertise Required: Evaluating digital assets goes well beyond typical fundamental or technical analysis. Regulation around these assets is also rapidly evolving. Advisors must invest in ongoing education—or partner with specialists—while managing risk and compliance obligations.
• Ethical Communication: Advisors should neither dismiss these interests nor encourage speculation without constraints. Clear risk warnings and a robust framework that aligns with the client’s overall objectives and tolerance for risk are non-negotiable parts of any ethical advice model.

4. The $2.1 Billion Opportunity—and the Need for Professionalism

A standout statistic from The Big Shift estimates that an additional 500,000 Australians will seek professional advice in the next four to five years, translating into a potential $2.1 billion increase in sector revenue. In parallel, up to 11.3 million Australians are considered “unadvised” or underserved. This aligns with the oft-cited figure of unmet advice need in the community.

4.1 Seizing the Opportunity Responsibly

While these numbers are encouraging, advisors must handle growth ethically. Shortcuts that compromise client best interest to chase higher profits will likely erode trust and lead to increased regulatory scrutiny. A surge in demand can strain operational capacity—prompting some firms to consider triaging clients or using technology to serve more people. The manner in which these decisions are made can either reinforce or undermine an advisor’s professional standing.

4.2 Professionalism as a Differentiator

Professionalism manifests in how advisors speak to clients, disclose fees, handle data, and manage conflicts of interest. With so many future-facing changes, a practice that demonstrates genuine ethical leadership—prioritizing transparent communication and fairness—will set itself apart.

4.3 The Policy Perspective

The report also highlights that financial advice is not merely a private good. Properly delivered advice can generate an extra $2.1 trillion in national savings over the next three decades and reduce calls on the Age Pension by 13%. Politicians and policymakers will increasingly recognize the socio-economic value of robust advice. Advisors, by maintaining high professional standards, can become indispensable partners to government initiatives aimed at strengthening national financial well-being.

5. Putting Ethics and Professionalism into Action

5.1 In-Depth Client Conversations

A major theme cutting across all seven mega trends is the importance of understanding the client’s full context. From the complexities of family relationships in intergenerational wealth transfers to the new demands on retirement spending, clients rarely have a one-dimensional question or goal. Advisors with strong facilitation skills—capable of guiding challenging family or lifestyle discussions—will be invaluable.

• Ethical Principle: Fully informed consent. Clients should grasp not only the “what” but the “why” behind recommendations.
• Practical Tip: Consider adopting a “lifelong journey” approach rather than a narrow, one-off plan. Build time into your processes for open discussions about values, fears, and broader life goals.

5.2 Comprehensive Skills and Partnerships

The scale and depth of change demands that advisors expand or refine their skill sets. That might mean forming alliances with healthcare experts, aged-care specialists, or technology firms that specialize in AI-driven tools.

• Ethical Principle: Competence. An ethical advisor either acquires the necessary competencies or partners with someone who already has them, transparently disclosing any referral fees or conflicts.
• Practical Tip: Explore new business models that enable multi-disciplinary service. For instance, an advisor focusing on retirees could partner with aged-care placement services and estate attorneys to provide a seamless client experience.

5.3 Intelligent Use of Technology

Advisors can—and increasingly must—leverage technology for both efficiency and enhanced personal connection. From automated data gathering to sophisticated modeling, digital tools free advisors to do what they do best: empathize, analyze, and strategize.

• Ethical Principle: Confidentiality and data security. As digital tools multiply, so does the burden to safeguard client information and be transparent about how it’s used.
• Practical Tip: Integrate video conferencing and digital signature tools if you haven’t already. Consider adopting client portals that show real-time progress toward goals. But ensure these systems meet best-practice cybersecurity standards.

5.4 Scalability Without Sacrificing Integrity

One strategic choice is whether to aim for serving many clients with lower-complexity needs (e.g., “streamlined advice”) or to focus intensively on a smaller clientele with complex wealth strategies. Both approaches can be successful, but each requires careful attention to the ethical dimension:

• For Volume-Focused Practices: Automate routine tasks but ensure each client’s unique circumstances are fully recognized. Avoid treating clients as just numbers in a queue.
• For High-Touch Models: Be diligent about conflicts of interest when offering extensive services that may include multiple fee layers or product recommendations.

5.5 Lifelong Education and Adaptation

The wave of new products, investment categories, and asset classes—especially in the digital realm—means advisors must remain learners throughout their careers. If an advisor opts out of certain market areas (e.g., cryptocurrency), it should be an informed choice.

• Ethical Principle: Diligence. Failing to engage with emerging technologies or market segments can leave clients exposed to misleading online influencers or outright scams. An ethical advisor can provide balanced guidance—even if that guidance is to steer clear, explaining precisely why.
• Practical Tip: Schedule quarterly reviews to explore how each of the seven mega trends is evolving. This structured approach keeps you and your team informed and able to advise responsibly.

6. Conclusion

The Australian financial advice sector stands at the threshold of enormous change and possibility. After years of relentless regulatory focus on “how” advice is delivered, the conversation is shifting toward broader macro forces that will redefine the “why” and “what” of professional financial guidance. The seven mega trends identified by Deloitte and Iress—ranging from skyrocketing retirement demand to growing concerns over environmental risk—underscore a future where more Australians, from more diverse backgrounds, will seek personalized, relevant advice.

For advisors, the question is not whether these transformations will occur, but how to adapt in a way that solidifies trust and best serves clients’ long-term interests. By deliberately choosing your client segments, service scope, business model, and technological toolkit, you position yourself to ride what might otherwise be an overwhelming wave of disruptions.

Critically, professionalism and ethics must guide every step. Transparent communication, respect for client autonomy, confidentiality, and a commitment to continuous learning are cornerstones of ethical advice. Advisors who embody these standards will not only capitalize on an estimated $2.1 billion in new revenue over the next five years but also help safeguard Australia’s financial stability—potentially unlocking trillions in national savings and easing the burden on government support systems.

The future of financial advice, then, is not about retreating into defensive compliance measures. Rather, it is a collective endeavor to envision and build services that reflect the varied ways Australians now live, work, invest, care for aging relatives, adapt to climate change, and embrace digital innovation. By moving forward confidently and ethically—embracing complexity, deepening client relationships, and collaborating where necessary—financial advisors stand poised to help more Australians access robust, life-changing advice than ever before.

Accreditation Points Allocation:

0.10 Technical Competence

0.10 Client Care and Practice

0.10 Regulatory Compliance and Consumer Protection

0.30 Total CPD Points