Advice delivery could be up to 80% faster for firms that adopt a hybrid advice model, according to the report from technology provider Ignition and consultancy firm Altus Consulting.

The report claims that hybrid advice ‘a method of advice provision whereby technology enhances, rather than replaces, the work of a financial adviser’ is the way forward for Financial Planning firms looking to offer a better consumer experience.

Terry Donohoe, CEO Europe at Ignition, said the Coronavirus pandemic forced Financial Planners and their clients to rely on technology more than ever before. He claims this change has provided a “much-needed impetus to encourage businesses to re-think old habits and provide what is actually a better consumer experience.”

He said: “We have seen that there is real demand in the UK financial services market for true digital advice, which seamlessly combines technology and human expertise to provide an easy-to-use service that helps customers make better financial decisions. As our whitepaper shows, there are still significant hurdles to clear before this model becomes the norm, but we are now closer than ever to revolutionising the advice industry and closing the advice gap.”

Sam Turner, consultant at Altus Consulting, said that pure digital advice remains a challenging proposition to deliver profitably and therefore the industry is moving away from the hype around robo advice and turning towards more of a hybrid model.

He said: “The recent rapid shift in working habits brought on by the pandemic has done a lot to accelerate change in the sector and alter attitudes towards the use of digital capabilities. The market may well be primed for a significant and lasting digital transformation, but implementing change on this scale is never a straightforward matter and our research has identified a number of key challenges that businesses will need to overcome over the next few years.”