Mobile devices permeate almost every aspect of modern life. Month by month we do more and more things using them.
For an increasing number of consumers, mobile devices are where they get information and that is not just reading newspapers, watching TV or participating in social media. If a financial adviser is not present where their clients choose to access information, they are putting themselves at a serious and unnecessary risk of being replaced or at least marginalised by other services or advisers who do.
It is no longer hard for advisers to include such capability as part of their services. Yes, advisers still want all the client record-keeping, regulatory reporting and workflows to operate effectively, but what really matters is what you put in front of the client.
Just about every adviser software system offers some form of client portal these days; indeed, I would seriously question the wisdom of selecting a system that does not have such capability built in.
Personal financial management is now a crucial component of client portals and, in the workplace market, any financial wellness proposition.Personal financial management (PFM) is now a crucial component of client portals and, in the workplace market, any financial wellness proposition. The two leading client portals that include integrated personal financial management come from Intelliflo and True Potential, which have both released significant upgrades to their offerings within the past few weeks.
Intelliflo’s PFM is more of a native app and currently has a slightly more enhanced user interface, which is highly configurable to meet individual users' priorities. Conversely, True Potential now includes both impulseSave and roundup micro-savings technology. Both have related capability to increase savings. Intelliflo does this through its automated advice service, although this is currently restricted to Isas and general investment accounts. The True Potential offering includes Isas, general investment accounts and Sipps, although this is not an automated advice service.
There is no room to list all the standalone PFM services here; however, one of my current favourites is Moneyhub Enterprise. Recently inducted to the FCA sandbox project, it delivers proactive insights to consumers to help them achieve savings. An extensive list of other standalone PFMs and micro-savings products can be found in the directory area at www.digitalwealthinsights.com together with reviews of the more advanced propositions.
Technologists are actively debating the importance or not of actually delivering services via a native app, that is, something that can be distributed via an app store or responsive web page. A responsive page is one that resizes itself depending on the device on which it is being presented. There are arguments in favour of both and I do not want to get too distracted on that subject, but as mobile web now represents most web traffic, you want any client-facing service to use one or the other.
Another increasingly popular use of client-facing technology is cash flow planning. Two services spring to mind that are great examples of what can now be achieved. Firstly CashCalc has built what is proving to be an increasingly popular cash flow planning app for advisers.
The paid-for version is £40 a month for the first licence and an extra £20 a month for each additional user. Cleverly the company has made licences for paraplanners free. The service enables advisers to build concise client branded forecasts on any device and access the data anywhere.
Its objective has been to build something more streamlined than the complex cash flow you might get out of a Voyant or Prestwood system and many advisers have suggested the latter options are more complex than they require.
In the interest of fairness I should point out that both systems have their ardent supporters. It is just a matter of how simple or complex you want the analysis to be. The other service in this area I must mention is the stunning new mobile friendly cash flow planning being delivered by Focus Solutions. Beautifully optimised for tablet devices, it is great for using collaboratively with a client either side by side or in a co-browsing environment.
In addition to products from specialist technology suppliers it is also worth a look at what is on offer from life offices and platforms. In this domain the stellar offerings are limited. 7Imagine from Seven Investment Management is an impressive example of what you can do with a truly 'gamified interface', but I am not convinced the developer has done as much as it could regarding integration with adviser client management systems. When announced, Seven was emphatic that it would build such links, but I have not seen as many appearing as I had expected.
Old Mutual Wealth has its Appetite for Risk app, but that is not an offering I have ever been a fan of. This could be as much a function of Old Mutual’s general approach to providing technology to advisers, which essentially puts Old Mutual at the centre of your advice process and it will find its solution to meet your clients' need. I can see this working well if you want to be a restricted single tie adviser, but it conflicts with the principle of advisers being independent.
It is fair to observe that in its last consultation on platform due diligence the FCA highlighted the risk of advisers being unduly influenced by support technology for platforms. If a firm wants to keep all its options open and be genuinely impartial, unless it is happy to be a single tie adviser it should probably source its technology for risk profiling, cash flow modelling and client portal from an independent technology vendor. Actually, I do see a case for single tie advisers being able to deliver outstanding low-cost advice solutions, but that is a subject for another day.
Overall consumer facing technology – both apps and other touch-enabled solutions – have a huge role to play in reducing adviser costs and improving customer experiences. In a digital world, consumers increasingly turn to addressing their personal finances at evenings and weekends, but I rarely meet advisers who want to spend more time in their offices during those hours. Choosing the best client facing technology can address this need.
Ian McKenna is director of F&TRC
Key points
Personal financial management is now a crucial component of client portals.
A popular use of client facing technology is cash flow planning.
In the domain of life offices the stellar offerings are limited.
