Glenn Freeman: I'm here on the sidelines of the Morningstar Investment Conference 2018 and I'm joined today by Morningstar's CEO, Kunal Kapoor.

Now, Kunal, you were talking there today about the role of financial advice, and as someone from the US, your observations about what that means for advisers and for the people who use their advice, just to, sort of, comparing and contrasting with the US situation.

Kunal Kapoor: Yeah. Well, I think, it's a bit of irony that here in Australia we are going through a period right now where the value of advice is being questioned so heavily. And it's certainly the case that some of the things that the Royal Commission has unearthed, they are just unacceptable. But I think if you step back from it, a lot of the advice and the advisers who work in the industry probably do not deserve to be painted with the same brush. And if you are an individual today, I think, the key thing that you want to think about if you are looking to work with an advisor is to really understand what are the incentives of that advisor in terms of how they deliver advice to me.

I think if you can understand that, and use that as a basis for forming a good relationship, I think it's a great way to start. Also, just understanding your advisor's investment philosophy, how they think about helping build outcome-based portfolios. I think the relationship needs to be deep in that sense, because you really are hiring your personal finance manager.

And so, I think, perhaps if I was thinking about all of this, it's actually a great time to be getting advice because the tools available to advisors are better than ever before. But the reality is, you got to know who is delivering that advice and be comfortable first and foremost.

Freeman: And just lastly, you have alluded to the best interests, and in Australia you have the best interest provision for financial advisers, and it's something that is also being talked about pretty heavily in US at the moment.

Kapoor: Yeah. I mean, the best interest standard really just comes down to ensuring that an adviser is acting in the best interest of the client and not necessarily providing recommendations that may not be appropriate for that client.

But you know, at the end of the day, regulations are going to certainly have an impact. But I'd go back to my first point. When you are sitting down with your adviser, understand what their motivations are, understand how they are being compensated and get comfortable with it and be sure to ask them, "will you act in my best interest?".

Because at the end of the day, you are hiring a human and you've got to be comfortable with that human, and you've got to be comfortable with their ethics. And I would submit that probably most advisers are doing the right thing and are in it for the right reasons. And so, if you can get aligned on what your best interest looks like and how the advisor can get you to that, I think you will be in good shape, regulations or not.