Financial planning technology firm Time4Advice has partnered with clinical technology provider Comentis to help clients detect vulnerable customers.
The move will see Comentis' cognitive assessment engine integrated with Time4Advice’s Curo platform to allow advisers to identify and support vulnerable customers
As part of Curo the software will provide advisers with a combination of general and clinical psychometric questions to ask their client, alongside an audit trail to help them spot and deal with vulnerable customers.
Comentis has pledged to ensure objectivity and reliability across the assessment process of vulnerable clients.
Jonathan Barrett, chief executive of Comentis, said technology was a game changer when it comes to supporting vulnerable clients, especially given the extra pressure on firms as a result of increasing regulatory pressure.
“Digital platforms, like Comentis, combine clinical expertise and sophisticated data to allow advisers to assess customers much more effectively and in a way that is consistent across the whole industry.
“This is vital in helping advisers better support and report on financially vulnerable clients, of which the FCA estimates there are up to 27.7m in the UK."
He added the technology means the assessment process will be less susceptible to human error.
Roland Rawicz-Szczerbo, director of Time4Advice, added with more communication between advisers and their clients happening online, an adviser’s ability to spot potential client vulnerabilities is being reduced.
“Therefore, we are delighted to integrate our system, Curo, with Comentis. The integration provides our users with a robust and seamless solution for assessing their client’s capacity for decision making and their likelihood of being financially vulnerable.”
Treating vulnerable clients fairly has edged up of the regulatory agenda in recent years.
In February the FCA warned the coronavirus pandemic had propelled the number of vulnerable adults in the UK to almost 28m, prompting warnings of growing financial inequality among the population.
At the same time it published its long-awaited guidance on the subject for firms.
sally.hickey@ft.com
