Focus zooms on wraps and platforms

Financial services technology provider Focus Solutions has launched a new platform, aimed at making access to products simpler for advisers.

Focus 360 is a single programme designed to be be used by intermediaries and providers to both reasearch, purchase and manage portfolios.

Julie Bayley, an adviser for Cumbria-based Keswick IFAs, said she welcomed anything which made portfolio management technology easier to use.

She said: "I try and do as much online as I can, because I hate paperwork. At the moment, the technology is not perfect so this sounds like a good idea. "Anything that makes it easier and quicker to work online is a good thing in my opinion."

Richard Stevenson, chief executive for Focus, said "A problem time and time again for providers is that their intermediary extranet services have been developed in isolation by individual product managers.

"Typically, there is no commonality between product lines in terms of navigation, sales process and limited data pre-population which culminates into an extranet site which is difficult for the adviser to use, submit and service business online.

"Focus 360 provides an attractive alternative which enables providers to enhance their intermediary offering in terms of functionality and consistency while providing the necessary connections to the industry portals and emerging wrap and platform market.

"We have been amazed at some of the estimates and timescales quoted to enhance existing legacy services. Focus 360 can help to address this."