However, once 2013 arrives there will be continuing demands on advice both from a regulatory and operational perspective, which advisers will need to meet head on to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new advice era.
To thrive post-RDR, advisory businesses will need to:
• Ensure they comply with the RDR’s requirements
• Maximise their chargeable time with clients
• More than ever, demonstrate their value to clients
To succeed in these areas, advisers will need to have access to comprehensive and unbiased research to support compliant advice, with a solution that supports them to deliver a professional service and output while facilitating an efficient advice process.
There will be increasing expectations of advice and the research that underpins it. Whether independent or restricted, the unique breadth and depth of data within Defaqto Engage provides all the research you require. Defaqto Engage provides access to our comprehensive data on products, funds and platforms – including DFMs, Exchange Traded Funds, Investment Trusts and Structured Products. Defaqto Engage also covers banks’ and direct products to provide a truly comprehensive view.
Advisers will also need to demonstrate that they have followed a compliant advice process. Defaqto Engage enables advisers easily to filter the product, platform and funds universe to a shortlist and recommendation – with a clear and robust audit trail that helps you meet FSA requirements.
To spend more - and therefore chargeable - time with clients, advisers will need to minimise the amount of time they spend on research. Streamlining the research process and standardising related workflows and outputs will be critical. Defaqto Engage allows you to conduct integrated three-way product, platform and fund research all in one place. For example, you can look at how funds and platforms interplay and how products and platforms interact. You can choose your research start point - product, platform or fund first - and easily identify how different combinations across these three areas link together. Undertaking this work manually or from separate systems would be time consuming, if indeed achievable at all. All the data you need is uniquely now in one place.
