Futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson buys at Great Mackerel Beach

The Surry Hill-based futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson has bought high on the cliff at Great Mackerel Beach overlooking Pittwater for $1.07 million.

Sorman-Nilsson, who grew up in Sweden, has helped leaders from companies including Apple, Amex, Mercedes Benz, Cisco, Hilton and the Macquarie Bank develop digital strategies to help future-proof their businesses.

The weekender, accessible only by water, was bought by Sorman-Nilsson, with his fiancé, Nicole Banning, the designer founder of Ephemera, from lawyer David Maloney who headed a purchasing syndicate nearly three decades ago.

It was 1990 when Maloney, along with Monaco-based former Speedo director, Michael Fitzgerald and the Europe-based Amcor vice-president, Ian Wilson, spent $400,000 on the beach retreat.

Set on a 670 square metre cliffside block on the Ross Smith Parade dress circle, the modern home has two bedrooms, both with balconies, and one bathroom.

The glass fronted deck has views encompassing Palm Beach, Lion Island and to the Central Coast.

There are private stairs from the beach to the hilltop hideaway, set down the Currawong Beach end of the strip.

Ray White Palm Beach agents Noel Nicholson and Emma Cameron had the listing.

"The stunning hideaway offers the opportunity to escape the hustle of modern day life whilst enjoying spectacular, elevated views of Pittwater yet just a short ferry or boat ride to Palm Beach," their marketing advised.

The strip’s highest sale was $3.3 million in 2006.

The most recent sale was to BBC correspondent Michael Peschardt and wife Sarah, who paid $1.56 million for a 1960s offering.

Last week Sorman-Nilsson noted that Australians are increasingly comfortable with the idea of getting financial advice generated by artificial intelligence, or "robo-advice".

According to new research commissioned by his strategy consulting firm Thinque, a survey of more than 1000 adults found that increased scrutiny of the behaviour of financial services professionals in the banking royal commission, meant Australians were more open to the idea of removing humans from the equation.

"Increasingly we are entrusting robots in the banking and finance sector, as many Australians' distrust in human advisers has mushroomed," Sorman-Nilsson said.

"There's definitely an era where there's a massive distrust in the human financial adviser."