Is your financial planner looking out for you or their bottom line?

Is your financial planner looking out for you or their bottom line?

Written by Tony Salvage, Head of Customer Experience

During a recent conversation with a long-standing client in the advice industry, he shared a frustration that stuck with me:

He’s absolutely right.

At Insync, our work with financial planning firms across Australia consistently highlights one critical truth: clients want advice they can trust. In fact, our Customer Experience (CX) data show that “acting in my best interests” is one of the key drivers of customer happiness, retention, and advocacy. This driver remains consistent whether the customer is building wealth or in pension mode, whether in a mass market fund or a private wealth organisation.

Why “acting in the client’s best interests” still isn’t the norm

It sounds simple: when you seek financial advice, you expect guidance that puts your needs first. Yet, in an industry built on trust, too many financial planners still prioritise profits over their clients, leading to unethical outcomes that can have severe financial consequences.

This mismatch between customer expectations and business behaviour can have serious consequences. Hidden fees, conflicted advice, and a lack of transparency continue to erode confidence in financial planning, leaving many Australians to question whether their advisor is truly working in their best interests.

The hidden costs of poor customer experience

When sales targets instead of client needs drive advice, the outcome isn’t just a disappointing experience; it’s a costly one.

When advisors recommend products based on commissions rather than client needs, customers are left with investments that don’t align with their goals. High fees, unnecessary services, and inadequate disclosure only add to the frustration, turning what should be a seamless experience into a costly mistake.

These experiences erode trust and damage not only individual relationships but also a firm’s long-term reputation and retention rates.

What great advice really looks like

To create a financial planning industry that genuinely serves its clients, firms must put customer experience at the heart of their approach. That means:

The future belongs to ethical, customer-centric firms

With regulatory scrutiny and consumer expectations rising, financial planning firms that fail to prioritise ethics and customer experience will be left behind. Customers now demand more than just financial expertise—they want advisors who genuinely care about their financial success. A win-win mindset!

By focusing on ethical practices and delivering a transparent, client-first experience, financial planners can rebuild trust and strengthen their long-term relationships. After all, financial security isn’t just about numbers; it’s about confidence, peace of mind, and knowing that your future is in good hands.

How Insync helps you deliver on that promise

At Insync, we help financial planning firms understand and improve their customer and employee experiences. Our scorecard-based approach reveals the real drivers of trust, loyalty, and advocacy, enabling you to embed them into your everyday practices. By identifying gaps, tailoring solutions, and tracking performance, we empower firms to deliver the transparent, ethical, high-quality advice that clients not only expect but deserve.

Contact us today to learn more.