If you are ever lost, ‘What3words’ is an amazing app which has divided the world into three metre squares and given each square its own three-word identity.
Wherever you are, the app can give you the three-word identity for your specific location, enabling you to quickly get back on track or, of course, be rescued.
2020 was a very difficult year, not just for financial services but for all of us.
Many individuals and businesses have lost their way, which has led me to think about ‘What3words’ I would use to describe the past twelve months.
You might have your own ideas, however after much thought I have concluded that, for me, the three words which define 2020 are; Trauma, Technology and Transformation.
Whilst they obviously apply to the wider world, I believe these terms are especially appropriate to financial services, and our own, and our clients’, futures.
The past year has been one of technological and scientific advancement which has moved us forward in ways barely conceivable twelve months agoThe fact that the past year has been traumatic is self-evident. Whatever aspect of life, business or the wider economy one looks at, it is crystal clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact.
Whether it is the personal and family tragedies of over 120,000 deaths or the massive £400bn cost of trying to keep the economy going. Just look at the lost year of schooling for a generation of children or the thousands of businesses that have been forced to close, many with little likelihood of re-opening. It has clearly been a year of absolute trauma.
But what of technology and, of course, its bedfellow, science?
I think it is equally clear that 2020 has brought out the very best in the creative advancement and use of technology. Science has led the way in bringing hope to us all, and showing us a route back to some kind of normality as this year progresses.
That vaccines have been successfully developed in a tenth of the time it would normally take is a tribute to what can be achieved when a clear goal is set and all our energies are put into achieving it.
The past year has been one of technological and scientific advancement which has moved us forward in ways barely conceivable twelve months ago.
Turning to Transformation. It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and I have highlighted that society advances ten times faster during wartime than in normal circumstances.
If anyone had any doubts about these two realities, the past twelve months have fully demonstrated their undeniable truth. The impact of the advances and attitudes towards technology, which resulted from the trauma of the pandemic, have been nothing short of transformational and nowhere is this more true than for financial advisers.
When the lockdown started last March, the financial advice sector came to a virtual standstill. By April, however, it was already starting to regain some of its momentum.
Individual advisers, adaptable as ever, picked up the phones to provide comfort and reassurance to their clients, with some even making the odd video call.
Alongside this, companies dramatically advanced their own technological capabilities, so that making video calls both socially and for business quickly became the norm.
Within a couple of months with millions of people working from home, and many families forced to stay apart, the video call became an everyday event, and almost as natural as meeting face-to-face. It is now beyond question that the impact of video calling has transformed society and business.
Financial advisers have shared the nation's trauma and are now capitalising on the advances in technology as they transform their businesses. The effects are already showing through but, in the longer term, I believe the transformational impact on our business models and profitability is going to be enormous.
Recently, in a single day, I had two meetings in London, one in Glasgow, two in Huddersfield and another in Manchester, while I finished off the day with a couple of social events, one in Huddersfield and the other in Leeds.
I hasten to add that not all my days are quite that busy.
Nonetheless, it would have taken me at least three - possibly four - days to achieve this without the use of video technology. In addition, I would have had the time, cost and wasted effort of travelling.
Applying the same logic and principles to how we work with our clients clearly shows how dramatic the impact of technology will be on us as financial advisers.
With less effort, but increased effectiveness, we can serve many more clients than we do at present; this, in turn, will have a significant impact on our success and profitability.
While advisers were not lost, nor did financial services need rescuing, I believe our three words of, trauma, technology and transformation, are going to deliver a massive boost to financial advice.
The potential benefits this will bring for society as a whole are huge, as it will enable us to improve the financial outcomes of many thousands of clients we would not otherwise have been able to serve.
Ken Davy is chairman of The SimplyBiz Group
