Adviser Ratings Together Australia Initiative

The Covid-19 pandemic is having a colossal effect on the Australian public. Lives have been turned upside down and habitual standard routines have been put on hold indefinitely. Economically, the impact has been equally severe – jobs have been lost, businesses have closed, and the fallout is being touted as the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression which upended the world 90 years ago. Australians need financial advice – now more than ever, and we want you to join with us in stepping up to the plate with our new initiative “Together Australia” to help those millions of people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Australians need financial help following the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are aiming to help bring our industry together to provide affordable and accessible advice to millions of Australians in need right now.

Adviser Ratings, in partnership with our media partners are running a campaign over several months to provide consumers access to advice from their super fund or third-party financial advisers. The primary objective is to help them become better informed about their options surrounding early access to their superannuation. A secondary objective is to assist in situations of financial hardship and/or redundancy.

To this end, we have created 4 new “skill sets” you can add to your profile. Like the other skill sets, these will enable people to filter their search for advisers who advise in these areas. The are tailored to connect those Australians specifically impacted by the fallout from Covid-19.

The 4 new skill sets are as follows:

Early Super Access
Early Super Access PRO BONO
Financial Hardship
Redundancy

You can add them to your list of profile skillsets simply by logging into your profile and checking the box of the skill set listed.

On 14 April 2020, ASIC passed legislation for COVID-19 Advice related relief. The crux of the legislation is twofold:
- To give consumers access to affordable advice for those adversely impacted by COVID-19. This means that advisers do not have to enter into a costly Statement of Advice
- For the “Early Access to Super” part of the legislation, this advice again is not subject to a Statement of Advice, but the advice fee needs to be capped at $300.

Adviser Ratings believes this is the perfect time to show Australians that we as an industry are here to help Australians get a handle on their financial stressors and that financial advice can be accessible and affordable.

For tens of thousands of Australians, making the right choices now about their super, life insurance, and personal finances could mean the difference between successful survival - or future hardship. We as an industry can help them understand the alternatives available.

Along with a new website, our Together Australia campaign will include:

1. Weekly newsletters with audiences of 600,000,
2. Content by leading experts,
3. Live “Ask an Adviser” segments and
4. Additional video content through the Money Minute video series.

There will be opportunities for advisers who add one or more of the new skill sets to participate in the initiative.

We understand not every adviser will be willing or able to engage potential clients in these new areas, but those advisers willing to be part of this co-operative initiative can make a statement by participating. Contact from people in these new areas will undoubtedly lead to on-going long term relationships for advisers in some cases, and it’s up to you how you would like to take advantage of this initiative. It’s an opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of people who may never have thought about getting advice before, as well as helping alter the negative public perception many in the community hold about the advice industry. We'll have more details about this campaign in the coming days.

So log on to your profile, select your skill-sets and be one of the advisers who is prepared to stand up for the industry you love!

Australian’s and the advice industry deserve it!

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Adviser Ratings

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