New online matching service pairs people with planners


A new ‘Find a Planner’ online matching service planned for release in early 2019 was announced by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) today at its annual FPA Professionals Congress at the ICC in Sydney, attended by over 1,300 delegates.

The proposed new Find a Planner online service uses a UX-based research approach to match people online with a financial planner based on a personalised profile of money and life goals, not just location. The consumer is in charge of how many financial planners matching their profile they’d like to contact them. Similarly, FPA members can choose if their services are a good fit before responding to consumer match requests via an app.

“The FPA is empowering Australians for a better future by making it easier than ever to search and find a financial planner on their own terms. We believe this new interactive matching service we’re working on is a game-changer for how people and planners find each other. It’s built on our inherent understanding as professionals that every person’s needs, goals, and personal circumstances are different, and they want a financial planner they can trust to navigate them through uncharted waters be it getting married, buying a house, planning for retirement, or unexpected financial windfalls or losses,” said FPA CEO Dante De Gori CFP®.

The current location-based Find a Planner directory has proven very successful with on average 6,900 searches, 14,500 profile views and 40 direct messages per month. However, FPA research revealed consumers searching for a planner tend to use six distinct filters when making their decision: trust, comfort, tailored recommendations, rapport, impartiality and reputation.

“It’s a new economy, a digital economy, where consumer expectations and technological possibilities have shifted. The current Find a Planner tool is heavily based on geographic location. Research confirmed our hypothesis that it’s an important decision criteria but not the primary one. The new Find a Planner online service ticks more of their boxes,” Mr. De Gori said.

Once released in 2019, the new Find a Planner service will sit within the FPA’s Money & Life website which receives 20,000 visitors per month. FPA members are invited to participate in a pilot testing phase before public launch in Q2 2019. Contact [email protected] to be involved