Menu
Menu
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) today announced an overwhelming response to its inaugural Ask an Expert Week, which it ran nationally between the 21 and 27 January.
Talking about the week-long initiative, which was conceived by the FPA as a way of improving access to professional financial advice for all Australians, CEO of the FPA, Mark Rantall, said that he was very encouraged by the number of people who took the opportunity of seeking answers from qualified financial professionals.
The FPA already has a popular ‘find a planner’ tool on its website, but decided to use social media to increase its reach during Ask an Expert week and to give consumers more opportunities and tools with which to ask questions in a safe forum.
“We offered an online ‘ask an expert’ forum, the ability to ask questions on Twitter using #AskanExpert , as well as a consumer brochure explaining financial advice in plain English,” he explained.
Mr Rantall said that the reach achieved by the campaign was impressive. “Of course we had hoped for a strong response,” Mr Rantall said, “but we were really pleased to see so many Australians benefitting from the financial expertise of our members.”
The Ask an Expert website achieved over 510 visits during Ask an Expert week. The site was viewed over 900 times in the week prior to Ask an Expert week, and this more than doubled to over 2000 views during the week itself.
“Many of our Tweets were also re-tweeted, bringing our reach to nearly 19,000, which we were really happy with,” Mr Rantall said.
Mr Rantall went on to explain the importance of financial planning. “It is widely recognised that financial control is crucial to our health and well-being, yet far too many Australians still do not seek help from a qualified financial planner.”
“There are many reasons for this, including a belief that financial advice is something that only wealthy individuals can access or alternatively a lack of understanding about just how much value good advice can add,” Mr Rantall said.
“By using Ask an Expert week to reach out to all Australians and allow them to benefit first-hand from answers given by professional financial planners, the FPA hopes to help more Australians understand that financial security is not beyond their grasp.”
Mr Rantall concluded by saying that trusted and professional financial advice can help everyone, regardless of age or financial situation, to achieve their financial goals sooner.
“And that’s really what the FPA is trying to achieve,” he said.