Openwork will help its advisers market their businesses with customer insight during 2018, Mark Duckworth has said.
The chief executive of Openwork has outlined his plans for the business in the coming 12 months.
He said the network has recently begun a significant piece of work into customer insight, including testing its proposition developments on a panel of customers.
Mr Duckworth said: "Working with some of our top firms, we will also be analysing client data in order to better identify the market segments their clients belong to, understand where there might be gaps and enable the creation of centrally-approved marketing material to help facilitate more effective marketing campaigns.
"Openwork enters 2018 with confidence. Our mortgages arm has a record pipeline and we are expecting to once again outperform a largely static market.
"We believe strongly in our proposition and have an appetite to grow so new firm recruitment will be a priority."
Mr Duckworth added there would be disruption over the course of 2018 but said he was positive about the advice profession.
He said: "It remains a great time to be an adviser as the UK is underserviced when it comes to financial advice.
"However, client requirements are changing and they need to be serviced throughout their lives.
"This is particularly relevant since the introduction of pension freedoms, meaning there is no longer the annuity cut off at 60 or 65 years-old.
"As a result, advisers need to evolve and adapt their offering. It is for this reason that we are supporting mortgage advisers to make the journey to wealth management so that they can meet more of their clients’ needs, and for the wealth managers to be able to service their clients long past retirement.
"We are doing this through the 'Route to Wealth' programme, which we introduced earlier this year and hope to see more of our advisers signing up to in 2018."
damian.fantato@ft.com
