The level of interest in financial advice increased markedly during 2020, spurred by the onset of the coronavirus, with superannuation, scams and misconduct attracting the most attention, according to a global fund manager.
Research commissioned by Allan Gray Australia found there was an 18 per cent rise in the level of online searches related to financial advice compared to 2019, more than 140,000 mentions of superannuation on Twitter and a high level of engagement with news reports on improper conduct related to super
Allan Gray Australia chief operating officer JD de Lange said the coronavirus pandemic caused people to focus on their finances with superannuation and advice a popular topic with news providers and consumers, particularly with the government allowing early access to member funds.
“Seven of the 10 most engaged with articles covered superannuation and nine of the 20 most engaged with stories covered improper conduct,” de Lange said, noting a warning from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to real estate agents that they were unqualified to provide financial advice had attracted a high level of interest.
“Other articles about superannuation which generated substantial engagement included one describing the compound future impact of withdrawing $20,000 from superannuation today, and another mentioning that 500,000 Australians 30 years or younger had dipped into their superannuation.”
He said these articles were part of an overall increase in content published about financial advice in 2020 compared to 2019, and that around 17,500 relevant news mentions by Australian news and trade publications took place in 2020, a 61 per cent jump from the previous year.
While average monthly searches for ‘financial advice’ increased from 12,100 searches in 2019 to 14,800 in 2020, unlicensed financial advice was also a popular topic, he noted.
According to the research, on Twitter in Australia in 2020 there were more than 12,700 relevant mentions of the topic, driven by real estate agents suggesting tenants use their superannuation to pay their rent and posts by Liberal MP Tim Wilson urging people to use their super to buy property.
