A new offering from wealth manager and Financial Planner Foster Denovo caught my eye this week as one possible pointer to the promised ‘financial guidance’ future.

The app-based MAP digital offering (MyAdvicePlace) will charge users £6 a month with a £180 set up fee.

It will enable users to keep track of their finances and then seek regulated Financial Planning advice from a Foster Denovo adviser if neded. The first consultation would be free and then ongoing advice, if needed, would be charged beyond that.

It's a blend of Financial Planning and digital guidance.

With the FCA poised to give the go ahead to a new generation of financial guidance services to help millions more get some kind of financial help this offering could be one way to marry digital, cut down financial guidance and fully fledged Financial Planning. Time will tell.

Foster Denovo’s service is not the first and there have been a few others launched, including some by Financial Planning firms.

With FCA data suggesting only one in 10 people pay for advice the Foster Denovo service may be one way to gently introduce a younger generation to the concept of paying for professional advice to provide a pathway to better financial management.

Interestingly, some of the newer digital banks, popular with younger consumers, seem very poor on offering financial guidance. I’ve checked a few and some just say they do not offer any investment advice. A missed opportunity perhaps. Investment advice can be complicated so perhaps they are nervous about getting involved in potentially a risky area.

Foster Denovo, of course, and many other Financial Planning firms like it are perfectly placed to reach more consumers, especially younger ones, with a cut down digital offering which provides guidance initially and then full Financial Planning when it’s called for, perhaps as assets rise. This could be one pointer to the future, at least for bigger Financial Planning firms.

Technology is the enabler here and a new generation of AI-based services are well placed to help steer better savings and investment habits for perhaps younger clients. A helping digital hand if you like for a new generation.

Foster Denovo, of course, will soon have a bevy of many more competitors. Anecdotal evidence suggests many many investment and savings providers, including many platforms, are chomping at the bit to offer financial guidance.

All we need now is for the FCA to light the blue touch paper.

The financial guidance picture will look very different in a year or two, I suspect, but my guess is it will do little to damage the Financial Planning profession. Digital advice and Financial Planning should go hand in hand and not be seen as enemies, rather as natural allies.

Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days.  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow @FPT_Kevin 

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