Case Study - FASI fpCentral™ Aged Care

Financial Advice Service Innovation

After identifying a gap in the market, founder and executive officer of FASI (Financial Advice Service Innovation), Greg Harper, has launched a referral platform for aged care which he hopes will change the way people navigate their way through the available options.

What went into launching the referral service and how did you research market opportunities?

The FASI fpCentral™ National Referral Platform was launched in May this year and based on the demand and feedback from our current clients, we have also created fpCentral™ Aged Care, which is an industry first referral platform - specifically for people seeking financial advice on aged care. Our referral platforms provide a highly organised and accountable two-way conduit for our clients. It has been developed primarily for accounting firms and superannuation funds nationwide as a professional and efficient extension to their core business.

FASI fpCentral™ Aged Care fills an important gap in the marketplace and brings together the experts who specialise in this professional domain.

As we know, it is common for people entering aged care to seek the support of their adult children or family members to help them navigate their way through the myriad of aged care options and complexities at this critical stage of their life.

When combined with the ageing population growth estimates in Australia* it highlights the need for your members, clients and employees to have access to the appropriate resources and information to help them make the right decisions.

Why did you decide to launch now?

We see the current environment as an extremely important time for positive action and to live by our commitment to deliver leading service innovation and professional consulting for our clients. With the ongoing changes and investigations from the Royal Commission, it is more important than ever for service providers to uplift the standard in terms of service quality, efficiency and compliance. There is enormous scope and opportunity for the financial advice service industry to 'improve and get better' and FASI can play a key role in helping our clients achieving those outcomes.

What challenges did you face and how were they overcome?

Our planning and collaboration with our own internal team, combined with the feedback from our clients has been instrumental in overcoming various operational development challenges. We are fortunate to have built a strong team with a mindset of "how can we" as opposed to "it can't be done". It is a daily constant and fundamental to the success of our business.

Can you explain the fee structure?

FASI is focused on delivering and quantifying 'value' for our clients. All service fees are subjective to the goals, circumstances and needs of our clients, which can vary significantly from one client to another. It will also depend on operational scale, volume, infrastructure, capacity and many other factors. Importantly, we work closely with our clients to assess and define the value, cost savings and benefits gained from our professional services.

*Over the 20 years between 1999 and 2019, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over increased from 12.3% to 15.9%. This group is projected to increase more rapidly over the next decade, as further cohorts of baby boomers (those born between the years 1946 and 1964) turn 65. www.abs.gov.au 3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, June 2019