The Pensions Advisory Service is set to trial a new online financial ‘capability’ tool with users of its helpline to aid them demystify their finances.
‘Bambooing’ is being provided by Suitable Strategies and measures an individual’s risk aptitude, alongside their understanding of key financial terms and level of engagement.
The trial is being conducted by Tpas to build up its experience of consumers and enhance online evaluation that provides a holistic assessment of individual financial needs.
It also allows the organisation to find out more about the types of consumer seeking guidance from next April via the telephone service it will be offering.
Michelle Cracknell, Tpas’ chief executive, stated that understanding a person’s financial personality is critical to ensure the right outcomes.
She said: “Bambooing will allow consumers to understand how their personality can affect their financial decisions and allows us to provide a much clearer understanding of who we are talking to and shape our guidance accordingly.”
Neil Bage, director at Suitable Strategies, commented: “This pilot makes it easy for consumers to find out more about their financial understanding and needs, whilst helping ensure they get the right guidance.”
As part of the pilot, Tpas is directing consumers to the testing platform, which will assess their financial profile to find out who is seeking support, allowing the advisory service to tailor its guidance appropriately.
Michael Free, fellow director at Suitable Strategies, added: “We think in time the concept of having your own ‘financial capability certificate’ will become the norm, but we are not fooling ourselves that this concept exists today.
“It needs to be led by the industry embracing, responsibly, the concept of suitable services based on a thorough understanding of an individual’s financial capability; Bambooing is the only tool of its kind in this sector to provide this assessment.”
peter.walker@ft.com
