Only 10% of Australians have financial plans created by professional advisers, according to a report from Deloitte.

“This suggests many do not understand the value of seeking financial advice, or it may be by choice or inhibiting factors such as location or cost.”

Deloitte says the race is on to engage the next 10% of consumers, which presents a “great opportunity”.

Low customer engagement allows current players and new entrants alike to change assumptions about providing advice.

Super funds are likely disrupters for the financial advice industry, because their assets will rise to 180% of GDP over the next 20 years, according to the report.

“When such volume of funds is under advice, super funds certainly have the opportunity to disrupt.” 

Disruptors with sufficient scale can lift the value curve and position themselves to compete with major advice providers, Deloitte says.

Access to financial advice may become more difficult for customers when remuneration structures fully change, raising questions over whether people will pay fees.

Australians older than 55 currently account for two-thirds of all financial planning customers and four of every five dollars under advice, but this may change.

“We expect entrants – and some incumbents – will focus on delivering low-cost solutions to attract customers currently perceived as low-value,” Deloitte says.

More demand is expected for online advisory services such as comparison websites and advisers that can help consumers navigate through information. People can become overwhelmed by the information available and may find it harder to make decisions unassisted.

Too many options can leave consumers “spoiled by choice and overwhelmed by difference”, especially when comparing complex products and services, the report says.

Technologies such as Skype may break down access barriers that have forced customers to use location as key criteria when selecting advisers.

Deloitte argues Australia can lead the world in expanding advice as the regulatory environment forces the industry to consider and shape the future.

Report key author Phil Hardy says financial advice’s future is dependent on stakeholders adopting more customer-centric business processes.