A financial advisory firm rating agency in Australia has rolled out a crowdfunding campaign to help its mission to improve conduct and transparency in the financial services sector.
Advice Ratings said it is trying to implement best practice following the Royal Commission’s report, which uncovered significant levels of misconduct in the industry.
The agency puts together reviews, ratings and performance reports to help clients make a “best buying decision”, the organisation said.
The campaign has not only caught the attention of the general public.
According to the firm, so far, financial advisers constitute 65% of donors.
Crowdfunding
The agency said it hopes to encourage greater transparency in two ways:
- Provide a free service for consumers to see ratings and reviews to assess the competency level of, and connect with, advisers (and soon licensees), and;
- Provide data, insights and tools to all wealth participants (licensees, fund managers etc) to better meet their risk and regulatory obligations; and more efficiently distribute their products.
At the time of publication, Advice Rating had raised about A$460,000 (£256,744, $321,135, €286,300) in four days through crowdfunding website Birchal.
It was targeting A$350,000.
Since it started in October 2014, the agency has engaged with 30% of active financial advisers in Australia and has received over 20,000 reviews on its website.
Advice Ratings said that it is already working with companies such as Zurich, the Australian Securities Exchange and Aberdeen Standard.
