Personal finance firm Boring Money has launched a new service to help customers identify the type of financial advice they need, including the ability to filter for a female adviser or fixed fee model.
‘Boring Money Advice’ aims to help promote the need for financial advice, and assist people choosing between full advice, digital advice, DIY investing and/or free finance information.
The online tool is built for any UK adult with some investible assets, regardless of wealth level, age and investment experience.
The decision-making quiz will help users identify which services are likely to be appropriate for them. Boring Money says it is the first tool of its kind which is agnostic about each of these channels – free guidance, DIY investing, digital advice or full face-to-face advice.
It will also offer a ‘find an adviser’ element. Based on consumer input, users will be able to filter advisers to find a female adviser, someone with sustainable investment credentials, or a firm with a fixed fee model.
Boring Money said these filters were included following feedback from its subscriber base, with "many" saying they wanted to see a female adviser, with fixed fees and ESG also important to some people.
"Users tell us they find it hard to identify advisers offering these things and it is something they would find helpful," the firm said.
Boring Money chief executive Holly Mackay said the platform would address issues including where to start, who to trust, what services are available, and what it all might cost.
“As a result [of these issues] we suffer from a huge advice gap, with millions of people feeling too uncertain about their choices to be able to find the right level of help they need,” she said.
“There is a fragmented array of tools available, with different services helping people find and compare investment providers, others helping with free information only, and websites using postcode-based searches to match customers with face-to-face advice. Boring Money Advice aims to bring this into one place for the first time.”
The tool will be launched to Boring Money’s subscribers under a pilot programme in the first instance. At the moment, the platform holds the details of 30 advice firms, but this will be scaled up as the tool is rolled out more widely later this year.
Boring Money Advice was put together with the support of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) as well as a panel of financial advisers.
It will also provide a range of free tools and support, including interactive user Q+A and discussion portal.
Chris Morris, who is the CISI’s deputy head of financial planning, said he thought it was crucial the profession looked for new ways of engaging with the public.
“Whilst there is no substitute to working with a qualified financial planner…resources such as this can play an important role in helping the public with their finances,” he said.
