The Netwealth IQ Report has landed:

and here's what it means for how you charge.

by Julie Matheson CFP, Finwise™ Leadership

Netwealth has just released its latest IQ Report… Advising the Connected Client: Human-Led, Digitally Savvy, and if you're a financial adviser, a compliance manager, or a practice owner in Australia, this isn't a report to skim and file away.

It's a 1,006-person, CoreData-backed snapshot of exactly what your clients are thinking right now. And what it tells us is simple: the ground has shifted, and the practices still pricing advice on a napkin are about to feel it.

Let's break down what it means for the three people in this room — your clients, your compliance team, and you, the adviser.

Why technology for advice fees matters to your clients

1. Greater transparency around what they pay. Consumers increasingly expect digital visibility and self-service access to financial information. Technology lets clients see advice fees, services delivered, reports, documents, and ongoing value through portals and digital reporting.

2. It demonstrates value for money. Clients want clear evidence of adviser involvement, outcomes achieved, reporting, and progress tracking. Technology helps show the value of advice between meetings, not just at the annual review.

3. Convenience and control. The research found strong demand for online access to reports, documents, investment information, and mobile-based financial management. Clients want fee information and service records available whenever they need them.

4. Improved trust. Many Australians are concerned about how their data is used and stored. Secure platforms provide transparency, audit trails, and secure document management — helping reassure clients their fee arrangements are being handled properly.

5. Better communication. Technology helps advisers deliver proactive updates, reminders, and educational content, so clients understand ongoing services and why fees are being charged.

The trust gap clients won't say out loud

Here's the thing your clients won't say in the meeting, but Netwealth's research says it for them: they trust technology to make their life more efficient — 81% agree it does — but they don't fully trust the intentions behind it. 62% believe tech providers put their own business goals ahead of the user's needs. 65% worry technology gets released before anyone's thought through the risks.

Now ask yourself: where does "how much do I charge you, and why" sit on that spectrum of trust? Right at the top.

When Netwealth asked people who they'd trust with a large sum of money — an inheritance, sale proceeds — 49% said "my adviser." Only 7% said AI. Only 18% said self-service. Your clients don't want a chatbot deciding what's fair. They want you. But they want you to be able to show your work.

That's the real pain point. Clients aren't rejecting technology — they're rejecting opacity. They want to see where the value sits, not just be told to trust it.

Why technology for advice fees matters to compliance

1. Supports fee consent obligations. Digital records of fee consents, renewals, approvals, and client communications reduce the risk of missing regulatory requirements — and create an auditable trail for regulators and licensees.

2. Improves governance and oversight. The report highlights the importance of governance, transparency, and clear data management. Technology platforms let firms monitor fee arrangements, flag exceptions, and reduce compliance risk.

3. Creates auditable evidence. Digital systems can record client consents, service delivery, communications, documents provided, and reviews completed — evidence that fees have been properly disclosed and services delivered as promised.

4. Reduces manual errors. Automation minimises the administrative mistakes that creep into fee renewals, disclosures, and record keeping — helping firms meet regulatory expectations consistently.

5. Strengthens privacy and security controls. 74% of Australians worry about the security of their personal information online. Strong security, permissions, authentication, and data protection help manage that concern while supporting compliance.

The question every compliance officer should be ready for

Deloitte reports that data breaches in Australian financial services are at their highest since 2020. Netwealth's own respondents back that fear up: 71% are concerned about how companies collect and use their data, and 74% worry about the security of their information the moment they go online.

So here's a question for the compliance officer reading this: when a regulator, a client's adult daughter, or your own PI insurer asks "how did you arrive at this fee?" — what do you hand them? A gut feeling? A spreadsheet from 2019? Or a documented, repeatable, defensible methodology that ties every dollar back to Standard 7 and the Best Interests Duty?

Netwealth's own guidance is blunt: firms must be deliberate about what data they collect and why and be able to explain their approach clearly. The same discipline applies to pricing. If you can't explain the why behind the fee as clearly as the what, that's not a client-experience gap — it's a compliance gap wearing a client-experience disguise.

Why technology for advice fees matters to you, the adviser

1. Reduces cost-to-serve. The report repeatedly highlights how technology and AI improve efficiency and automate routine admin. Fee management technology reduces manual processing and frees you up to spend more time with clients.

2. Enables scalability. Technology lets you manage more clients without a proportional rise in admin burden — critical as advisers look to expand access to advice while protecting profitability.

3. Demonstrates ongoing service. One of the biggest challenges in ongoing fee arrangements is proving value. Client portals, reporting tools, and activity records provide evidence of ongoing engagement — not just at review time.

4. Improves client retention. Clients want a "human-led, digitally savvy" experience. Advisers who pair seamless digital experiences with personal advice are more likely to strengthen engagement and loyalty.

5. Frees you up for high-value work. Clients still want advisers involved in high-stakes decisions, strategy, coaching, major life events, and market uncertainty. Technology handles the admin so you can focus where human judgement creates the most value.

What it means for financial planning practices

Here's the number that should get every practice owner's attention: firms that adopt AI and technology well are heading for margin expansion, and beyond that, market expansion, reaching more Australians with advice in a commercially viable way. That's not our opinion, it's Verse Wealth CEO Corey Wastle, quoted in the report itself.

But notice what he didn't say. He didn't say "replace the adviser." He said "elevate the human."Netwealth's data backs him up. When it comes to setting financial goals and building a plan, only 10% of clients want an AI chatbot doing it. They want you. What they want automated is the friction: the admin, the inconsistency, the "why does my colleague charge less for the same work"conversation happening in the tearoom.

So ask yourself the question Tom Hopkins would ask: if you knew, with certainty, that the practices winning the next five years are the ones who can price every client with confidence, consistency, and a documented rationale — would you want to be one of them?

Netwealth is the hero of this story

Their research proves, in black and white, that consumers want transparency, compliance wants defensibility, and advisers want to stop reinventing the fee conversation every single meeting. Read the full report here

Bottom line

Technology transforms advice fees from a compliance exercise into a transparent value proposition, giving consumers confidence, helping firms meet regulatory obligations, and enabling advisers to deliver more advice with greater efficiency and demonstrable value.

Julie Matheson CFP is the inventor of the Finwise™ Calculator, the fintech that enables scalability, improves client retention and demonstrates ongoing service, the most tangible asset in practice valuation.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not intended as professional advice. Information is current at the date of publication and may be subject to change without notice.