Approved financial advice goes online

Advisor300 may help those with busy lifestyles

A new website linked to a chain of regulated financial advisors in the UK is the first to offer online advice.

Until now, the only way to get approved financial advice has been to arrange face-to-face meetings.

Advisor300 however, will allow customers and IFAs to discuss matters via a telephone link, while viewing special screens on the internet.

The customer can then complete financial risk assessments and make investments without ever leaving home or meeting the advisor in person.

Advisor300 Chief Executive Chris Batten said it has taken two years to get the scheme approved by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and is the first of its type.

Permanent record

A financial advisor is normally the first person to turn to for compensation if the advice is found to be faulty.

For this reason, Advisor300 is promising to make a permanent record of every conversation.

It is a positive development, particularly if the focus is on advice and not selling products Nick Bamford, Society of Financial Advisors

Speaking to the BBC's Money Box programme, Mr Batten said:

"The entire transaction, the entire conversation, every single screen-shot and key press is actually recorded by our technology and then burned onto a compact disc which is then delivered to the client as their un-editable record of the entire transaction, so that in years to come there can be no misunderstanding on what has been done and why it has been done.'

"No substitute"

The FSA has confirmed its approval of the scheme but stressed that it would be monitoring it closely, and that in its opinion there is no substitute for good face-to-face financial advice.

Chairman of the Society of Financial Advisors Nick Bamford also believes face-to-face advice is best for most people but that the online advice scheme will be taken up by some consumers with busy lifestyles.

He told the programme:

"It is a positive development, particularly if the focus is on advice and not selling products."

Advisor300 has said the next step will be to let customers see the financial advisors they are dealing with via live video conference links.

Mr Batten said that the technology already supports this but he believes it will only take off strongly when cameras are introduced into set-top boxes for digital television.

BBC Radio 4's Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 28 February, 2004 at 1204 GMT.