OpinionJan 12 2022

Technology is the key to working faster and smarter

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Technology is the key to working faster and smarter
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Have I stuck to it? More or less. I concede that some weeks it has been once rather than twice. Some days the cold weather or the driving rain have seen me turn for home before I hit the 20k mark.

But I have got out there more than ever before, enjoyed the time in nature and noticed a marked improvement in my fitness. 

So why, I found myself asking recently as I pushed myself on a particularly challenging climb, was that guy cruising past me so easily, and on a mountain bike at that? 

As he pulled ahead I got a better look and the answer became clear: he was not superhuman, and all my months of training had not been in vain. He was on an electric bike. 

This felt to me like a metaphor. However hard you work at something manually, it can only take you so far. Technology can always give you that extra edge. 

Many advice companies have come to this conclusion themselves in recent years and particularly during the pandemic, embracing the possibilities that tech can offer their businesses. Others have been more wary, fearing perhaps that they will automate themselves out of a job. 

But when you automate the analysis in the suitability assessment, you are not automating advice. You are simply harnessing technology to do the job more quickly and more consistently.

When you use a great system for cash flow, when you employ risk profiling instruments, you – like my friend on the hill with the motor – are finding ways to make the work easier and faster, with all the benefits that brings to you, your company and your clients. 

I therefore offer companies three tech resolutions for the year ahead. 

1. Get the client doing more. Increasing numbers of companies are asking their clients to use online risk profiling and fact finding ahead of meetings. Enhancements that help clients understand their values and preferences are likely to become increasingly mainstream in the years ahead.  

​​Some companies are concerned that the use of such technology will damage perceptions of the adviser’s expertise. However, feedback from planners suggests the opposite is true, with 87 per cent of companies surveyed by Dynamic Planner stating that technology is improving their ability to serve clients. The right systems not only speed up the process, but enhance the relationship, giving clients a sense of ownership over their financial plan.

2. Seize the opportunities of the hybrid world. Many companies have reaped an unexpected productivity dividend in the pandemic, as the shift to hybrid working – combining screensharing, digital systems, video and in-person meetings – has enabled them to access more clients, more efficiently than ever before. 

Using video calling is only the start. The financial plan is beginning to move from a ‘once-and-done’ to an ‘always-on’ model, in which the digital plan, based on the client’s risk profile, goals and financial arrangements, is continuously updated with valuations, enabling both client and adviser to track progress and course correct as needed. 

This is particularly valuable for clients in drawdown, where tracking against plan to ensure sustainable withdrawal rates and portfolio risk level is central to ensuring a good outcome.

3. Embrace end-to-end. There is no longer any need for advice companies to use multiple heritage systems that do not communicate with each other. Whether through application programming interfaces or through new single-system approaches, there is plenty of technology out there that can help companies work in a more joined-up way. 

As the Financial Conduct Authority has identified, one significant concern with multi-system models is miscalibration risk – the potential for the different systems and tools used in designing and building a client’s portfolio to define risk levels differently, meaning the client’s profile is not accurately reflected. 

Minimising this risk is often a laborious process requiring extensive manual checks – just one productivity saving that comes from an end-to-end approach. 

While to a traditional cyclist technology is arguably cheating on a hill climb, for advice companies it is the key to working faster, smarter and delivering value to more clients more easily. I hope you will find a resolution in the three above that will chime with your goals this year. 

As for me, I reaped the rewards of a busy 2021 with some much-needed downtime after Christmas, during which I let my exercise routine slide and ate far too many mince pies. As a result, I will be back on my bike in 2022 – and I ruefully concede that this is one area where I might need to stick to the analogue approach. 

Ben Goss is chief executive of Dynamic PlannerÂ