Money Marketing Columns - 2005

Commission Possible - 6^th January 2005

With the onset of depolarisation, there has never been a more important time for financial advisers to demonstrate the value for money that they provide to their clients. This is inexorably linked with the need for advisers themselves to have a far greater understanding... more

Web Feat - 20^th January 2005

With all the brouhaha of the dotcom period now a distant memory it is probably a good time for IFAs to review what value operating a website can deliver to themselves and their clients.   It is true that if you have a big enough budget ... more

Signature Tune - 3^rd February 2005

If you had told me a couple of weeks ago that I would be writing a column advocating the use of an online new business system that requires a hard copy signature from the client as part of the process, my answer would probably have been unprintable... more

Vantage Point - 17^th February 2005

It is widely recognised that, over the past 24 years, Hargreaves Lansdown has grown from a two-adviser firm to one of the biggest financial advice businesses in the country with over 400 staff. What is perhaps less well known is that in recent years... more

Laundry on the Line - 3^rd March 2005

Simplifying the anti-money laundering process could deliver major benefits to advisers, providers and consumers.  The current process is cumbersome and expensive for practitioners and often frustrating...

Judgement Day - 17^th March 2005

Judging the Best Use of New Media section in the recent Money Marketing awards involved probably the most diverse range of entries that I have ever seen.   The judging panel included, ... more

Positive Thinking - 31^st March 2005

It is often said that advisers are reluctant to use new technology. Anybody who makes such a statement has never met Positive Solutions. The company is growing at a blistering pace and has made leading-edge technology a central part of its proposition... more

Webline's Evolution - 14^th April 2005

The portal market continues to be dominated by The Exchange but no summary of progress made in this area over the past few years could fail to recognise the significant advances made by Webline.  The company first became known as a low-cost tool for...

Run to Fat or Lean to Thin? - 28^th April 2005

The ways that an adviser can maintain and control client data have come far easier in the last few years.  Until recently, any adviser firm wanting to operate a client management system would have almost invariably...

Hard Choice on Software - 12^th May 2005

Increasing numbers of life companies are reporting that as much as 70 per cent of their new business for certain products is being originated electronically.   Against this background, it is hardly surprising that ... more

Take your Portal Pick - 26^th May 2005

In my last two columns, I have looked at a number of issues that advisers should take into account when planning to put a new client management system into their business.   There are many reasons why advisers should install this software but it appears there are... more

Wrap Realities - 9^th June 2005

I have long believed that one of the best software applications for generating additional inc-ome for advisers is the pension profiler package from O&M Systems. I have referred to this software in Money Marketing as "a licence to print money for IFAs".   The current software... more

Application Angle - 23^rd June 2005

More and more protection business is being written electronically but I believe it is appropriate to question how much of that business is being established in this way for the right reason.   There will be very few advisers who are using e-commerce in preference to paper... more

Lighthouse Moves Away from the Pack - 7^th July 2005

One of the recurring themes of this column in recent months has been to look at how advisers who are not using client management systems can acquire the technology they need and start to achieve the considerable benefits available, not only in terms of better... more

All Change at Assureweb - 21^st July 2005

There was confirmation last week of what must be one of the industry's worst-kept secrets this year.   The existing insurer share-holders Aegon, Clerical Medical, Friends Provident, Norwich Union and Scottish Widows have bought out the Sesame share in Assureweb,... more

Simple Solutions - 8^th August 2005

Having a suitable spread of assets is a prerequisite to good portfolio construction.   In a market-place made up of over 40,000 funds, choosing the correct one for the right strategy to represent any given sector for a client's various goals can be a challenging prospect.... more

Is there a Future for Fund Firms? - 18^th August 2005

Two weeks ago, I was talking to the head of commercial development at a major IFA firm about the ways in which the market has changed in the last few years.   One significant observation he made was that "three years ago it looked like the fund industry was going to... more

Caught in the Extranet - 1^st September 2005

Two weeks ago, I looked at some of the arguments for and against fund management groups, recognising that the majority of new fund business is being originated via fund supermarkets and achieving economies by dismantling their own distribution operations... more

The Message is Starting to Get Through - 15^th September 2005

The recent news that Norwich Union had gone live with contract enquiry valuations via the Exchange's Exweb Gold service represents for many reasons a significant step forward for industry technology.   From the perspective of over 20,000... more

Identity Crisis - 29^th September 2005

Identity theft is the major new crime of the decade. In just a few years, it has gone from being virtually unheard of to being a big issue which is seriously undermining many consumers' attitude towards more efficient methods of working.   The cost to the UK economy is quoted as £1.3bn a year, with more than 100,000 people... more

Positive Attitude - 13^th October 2005

Positive Solutions has long been recognised as the leading IFA in the country when it comes to the use of technology. In the spring, I wrote about the initial release of its IntuITive software system. Positive has constructed its own portal service to complement this and an enhanced... more

Taking in Vista - 27^th October 2005

In recent weeks, there seems to have been a considerable amount of hype bordering on scaremongering appearing in certain other industry trade publications about the risk of IFAs not being ready for the launch of Microsoft's Vista operating system and the need to take urgent... more

Standards Fireworks - 10^th November 2005

Recent statements that Origo has decided not to enter the mortgage standards market sound to me like a victory for common sense over ambition. It has already been identified by several mortgage players that significant volumes of new applications are already... more

Take the Plunge - 24^th November 2005

The market for adviser client management systems has seen some interesting changes during the past year and there can be little doubt that in the next 12 months, there will be even more. This is particularly the case as far as systems to meet the needs of small to medium... more

Fair Trade - 8^th December 2005

Treating customers fairly has become one of the main drivers of change in our industry during the last 12 months for all the right reasons. There is considerable variation in what different parts of the community see as the behaviour to treat customers appropriately.   There is a great... more

Money Marketing Columns - 2004

Get Ready for Electronic Reporting - 15^th January 2004

In my last column, I focused on the achievements we have seen in industry e-commerce over the last year and looked forward to some of the benefits it would be reasonable to expect to arrive during 2004.   If the business efficiencies achievable as a result of ...more

Make Technology Pay Off - 22^nd January 2004

I believe 2004 will be a year when technology can make a significant contribution to the profitability of IFA businesses.  At long last, we are seeing a plethora of technology solutions that can either significantly cut costs within an IFA business...

Heir of Competence - 5^th February 2004

No fewer than 65,000 advisers have passed accredited mortgage qualifications. With the onset of FSA regulation, advisers will have an obligation to demonstrate that they remain competent to give advice. Anyone employing advisers will have an obligation to review their competence... more

The Engine Room - 19^th February 2004

Bankhall must be one of the outstanding successes in personal finance product distribution in the last decade.   Its approach allows new advisers to enhance their regulatory status and the range of advice that they can offer. Starting with non-regulated status via Point One, progressing to a network member ...more

Seasonal Software - 4^th March 2004

With one month to go until the end of the tax year, it increasingly appears there is an ISA season taking place. Around 50 per cent of ISA investments via IFAs are now placed via fund supermarkets, as opposed to 20 per cent of all new ISAs.   Cofunds told me recently that it is already seeing a threefold increase in new ISA cases... more

March of the Mechanics - 18^th March 2004

Imagine an investment which had grown at a rate of 30-35 per cent a year since 1900.  Better still, the rate of return achieved since 1940 was nearer 50 per cent a year.  Impossible?  Well, according to a study by William D Nordhaus or Yale University in his paper entitled The Progress of Computing, I have just described...

Brain Storm - 1^st April 2004

With the start of FSA mortgage regulation just under seven months away, this week I will be looking at some of the emerging solutions designed to help mortgage advisers with complying with the regulations.   In the last few years, electronic trading in the mortgage market ...more

Happy Returns - 15^th April 2004

With the advent of mortgage regulation, general insurance regulation and depolarisation, even the most dedicated compliance officer could probably be excused for allowing the FSA's proposal for electronic reporting to slip down their priority list in recent months... more

No Mere Portal - 29^th April 2004

Money Portal has become one of the biggest players in the IFA market in the last 18 months via an aggressive series of acquisitions that included Willis Owen and Bates Investment Services. As reported recently in Money Marketing, the company is negotiating... more

Wrap Fails the Test - 27^th May 2004

Just because you have a superior product it does not necessarily follow that you will be successful. The technology world is littered with examples.   The solutions that were adopted were the ones that got their message across effectively to customers.... more

Multi Mix - 10^th June 2004

Like it or not, depolarisation looks certain to become a reality in 2005. This begs a number of questions. What sort of technology proposition is likely to succeed in the multi-tie environment? How will depolarisation affect the take up of e-commerce? What requirements are providers... more

Enhancing Exweb - 24^th June 2004

By the time you read this article, Money Marketing readers who are among the 9,000 directly regulated IFA users of the Exchange's Exweb service should have received a letter notifying them of when they will be given access to the new "enhanced" Exweb service... more

It's Got to be Perfect - 8^th July 2004

Tucked away on page 11 of Annex A of consultation paper 04/11 under point 36 is a reference to a concept that I have never heard of before - "Perfect Advice".   What some IFAs may find disturbing is that the FSA identified the benchmark for perfect advice... more

The Tender Touch - 22^nd July 2004

Over the last few months I have noticed a distinct increase in the number of IFAs calling me asking for advice on which of the different adviser client management systems they should invest in.  Encouragingly more and more advisers are taking considerable time to plan...

Raising the Standards Issue - 5^th August 2004

Moves to create data standards for electronic trading in the mortgage industry raise some significant questions for the mortgage market and the personal finance industry.   The founder of not-for-profit standards holder Mides (Mortgage Industry Data Exchange Standards) has said... more

The Whole Tooth - 2^nd September 2004

I am constantly amazed at the way other professions are implementing technology to improve the way they look after their clients. Let us take a very simple example.   I had a filling replaced recently. Instead of filling the cavity himself or taking a mould and sending it to... more

Desktop Delivery - 16^th September 2004

The advent of mortgage and general insurance regulation is forcing dramatic change on those sectors. From October 31 this year and January 14 next year, mortgage and general insurance practitioners respectively will have to document how they have followed specific... more

A Vital Asset - 30^th September 2004

Last week, I believe I may have seen the future of financial planning and it seems to work very well.   This week sees the release of the latest version of iTrak, a dedicated software package designed to enable advisers to identify a suitable asset allocation for clients... more

The Right Blend - 14^th October 2004

1985 was a year that had a dramatic effect on the way we now live our lives. It was the year mobile phones first appeared the UK with the launch of Racal Vodafone and Cellnet and Microsoft also launched the first version of its Windows operating system that November... more

Lending Library - 28^th October 2004

Doing a reasonable imitation of Shere Khan from the Jungle Book, the FSA has put itself forward as a user-friendly regulator, suggesting there is no need for mortgage advisers to have a third party in the regulatory relationship. This might have been vaguely... more

Standard Arguments - 11^th November 2004

Just when it looked like changes in ownership at the Abbey had provided an opportunity for common sense to prevail in the electronic submission of mortgage applications, an alternative has appeared with the potential to complicate things further.   In recent years, the mortgage...more

FSA Averts an Identity Crisis - 25^th November 2004

I recently had a rather strange experience while reading a document from the FSA.   For a brief moment, I wondered if someone had spiked my drink. The more I read the document, the more it became apparent that the regulator is advocating an approach that has the potential... more

Keep the Watchdog at Bay - 9^th December 2004

We all have to be responsible for our actions in life. Well almost all, two related groups appear to have the ability to make irresponsible decisions without fear of being called to account. I refer, of course, to the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman Service.   Insulated as they are... more

Money Marketing Columns - 2003

Open the Green Portal - 9^th January 2003

It was possible to read the long awaited Pensions Green Paper and skate over an important announcement on page 43 to an Online Retirement Planner and an aim to launch such a service in 2004.   This is a massive opportunity for the adviser community to demonstrate ...more

Getting the Messaging - 23^rd January 2003

The first experience that most novice computer users have of electronically managing information concerning people they communicate with, either online, or for general appointments, tends to be some use of Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express...more

Scale Tips Balance - 6^th February 2003

It is hard to think of any document last year that stimulated more opposition from the IFA community than CP121.   A year has passed and a great deal of good work has been carried out, especially by Paul Smee and his colleagues at Aifa, and finally the FSA ...more

Leader of the PAC - 20^th February 2003

When representatives from a life company come to my office and say they are getting 96 per cent of their business in an important product area electronically, they have definitely got my attention. This was exactly the statement made by Legal &General ...more

Stakes Alive - 6^th March 2003

The recent publication of the Treasury response to Ron Sandler's proposals for a broader range of "stakeholder" products raised many interesting issues for the industry - not least who is actually going to sell them ...more

Taking the Risk Out of Risk - 20^th March 2003

One of the inevitable trials of giving financial advice is that from time to time you come across clients who really need their heads testing. They will be unreasonable in their expectations, so how do you introduce a little more reality to their thinking? ...more

Human Nature - 3^rd April 2003

One of the principal challenges for any adviser wanting to operate successfully in the stakeholder market is how to do so profitably.  The paltry levels of commission that can be afforded out of the price-capped product have turned this Government's flagship pension product ...more

Service Errors - 17^th April 2003

One of the inevitable consequences of writing a regular column like this is that lots of people approach you with their ideas on how to move forward with industry e-commerce. I try to filter these and concentrate on the good ones. However, every once in a while ...more

Protection Pathway - 1^st May 2003

Given the perilous state of the investment markets, many IFAs who considered creating wealth to be at the heart of their businesses have found it necessary to diversify their activities over the last couple of years.   I was speaking to the chief executive of one national IFA ...more

Key to the Door - 15^th May 2003

Just as the major industry quotation portals are positioning themselves to be anything but just portals, a small company is making significant progress in attracting IFA users by sticking to its core proposition.   More than 18,000 registered users ...more

Champion Manager - 29^th May 2003

Two weeks ago, I looked at some of the emerging alternatives within the portal market for advisers obtaining quotations and transacting electronic new business. At the time, I mentioned the progress that has been made by Synaptic Systems in the development of its portal ...more

Reap Real Benefits - 12^th June 2003

The industry is in a constant state of change and the ability to adapt to these changes is one of the strengths of the adviser community.  There is already an increasing number of solutions in place to help advisers...more

Wrap Speed Ahead - 26^th June 2003

There seems to be a widely held view in the marketplace that wrap products will be the next big thing in personal finance. However, looking at the increasing number of wrap offerings that are emerging, I am beginning to believe there is a real risk that, ...more

Stochastic Exchange - 10^th July 2003

Life offices frequently create some very useful online services for IFAs via their extranets.  All too often, however, these can only be used in connection with the providers' own contracts.  When a life office creates an innovative and valuable service ...more

Switching on to Profit - 24^th July 2003

IFAs can be a cynical bunch, especially when it comes to technology. An increasing number of firms are putting technology at the heart of their businesses but there are still many who refuse to believe it can radically improve the way they work...more

Meet the Legal Challenge - 7^th August 2003

One of the major challenges facing organisations trying to build a financial advice brand is how to achieve a consistent quality of advice and documentation across many hundreds of registered individuals.  This can be a problem particularly in a network situation...more

Single Minded - 21^st August 2003

The adoption of electronic new business in the life and pension market can at best be described as erratic but there are increasing signs that online submission is becoming the norm in the mortgage market.  It is not difficult to identify the reason for this. ...more

Broadband Can Narrow Your Costs - 4^th September 2003

This week's column is about cutting costs within an IFA business. If you believe you have already squeezed every last penny of saving out of your business, read no further.  I hear many reasons why IFAs are not adopting ...more

Touching Database - 18^th September 2003

Comparing different products, their features and suitability to match a client's needs is one of the fundamental parts of the IFA process.  It is no surprise then that during the last decade, some of the most successful software packages targeted at advisers ...more

Sink or Swim - 2^nd October 2003

The FSA's capacity for producing paper never ceases to amaze me and the recent arrival of CPs 197 and 198 is no exception.   There seems to have been considerable concern over the obligations that this CP will place on advisers to submit information to the regulator ...more

Collaborate to Cut Costs - 16^th October 2003

At no time in history has it been more important to remove costs from all parts of our industry. Today we stand on the brink of a new age: the economic models that have worked for the last 50 years are now obsolete...more

Positive Partnership - 30^th October 2003

I recently met with an IFA business that, because of its technology, can operate with over 700 registered individuals on a head office staff of 35.   This validates the extent of what as an industry ...more

Clients, Not Compliance - 13^th November 2003

Last week, I had an opportunity to look at new technology that a major IFA is using to achieve significant improvements in the productivity of its compliance staff and make the whole compliance review process ...more

Group Therapy - 27^th November 2003

Changes in the group pension market in recent years can probably best be described as traumatic. The emergence of stakeholder pensions complete with price caps and the decline of final-salary business have dramatically increased activity in this area...more

The 12 Months of eCommerce - 11^th December 2003

The end of the year is the traditional time to review what has happened in the past 12 months and look forward to what might come in the next. All too often, as far as IFA technology is concerned, it has been a case of looking back on a year when things were not achieved ...more

Money Marketing Columns - 2002

Pass the Portal - 10^th January 2002

The news just before Christmas of Skandia's proposed acquisition of Bankhall, via an unbundling of Lynx, is yet another roll of the dice in the distribution stakes.
The deal is an attractive one for both Skandia and Bankhall. Skandia gains...more

New Life for IFAs - 17^th January 2002

Few companies can claim to have been short listed for the Money Marketing award for best use of new media three years in a row. Scottish Life has exactly that distinction, having collected the full set of silver, gold and bronze awards in 1999, 2000 and 2001 respectively.  As I mentioned at the end of last year...more

CP121 Will Make IFAs Stronger - 7^th February 2002

In my view there are two ways that our industry can react to any proposed change in regulation. We can fight the changes tooth and nail and end up losing. Alternatively, we can embrace the fact that change...more

The Main Events - 21^st February 2002

The Money Marketing IFA UK shows have long been among the most important events in the IFA calendar. More than 7,000 IFAs attended ...more

Why Price is Right for IFA Software - 21^st March 2002

An interesting debate broke out recently on the FinservUK Ecom list. It appeared to be prompted by the charges being introduced for DBS members by AssureWeb for the use of the Consultant software...more

Care in the Community - 4^th April 2002

It seems that not a week can go by without some significant regulatory publication emerging that needs to be fully digested and examined in the context of our industry.
As if the steady flow from the FSA were not enough to wade through...more

Compliance Trailblazer - 18^th April 2002

It comes as no surprise that Consignia has had its recent difficulties when one considers the increasing role that email plays in our working lives. However, ease of access and flexibility make email something that is all too easy to treat like a phone call rather than...more

Make Tracks for the Net - 2^nd May 2002

As we all know, it is the natural tendency for markets to overestimate both the upside and downside of any event. It is, therefore, reasonable to consider that the current malaise around the use of the internet ...more

The Data Dilemma - 16^th May 2002

Two weeks ago, Focus Solutions published some interesting research on the services being offered by life office websites. But the names of the life offices were not revealed.   The reason for carrying out the research was, no doubt, to help draw attention ...more

Waiting Too Long - 30^th May 2002

Two weeks ago, I looked at how the industry might modify its approach to electronic new business processing to make it more attractive for IFAs to use. The natural counter point to any such development is the electronic delivery to advisers of information on existing contracts ...more

Making Contacts - 13^th June 2002

A number of recent studies suggest that over half of IFA firms do not have, or at least do not actively use, a back-office system. I have already written on a number of occasions this year...more

Take a Dip Online - 27^th June 2002

The path of the mortgage industry towards electronic trading has not been smooth. It is not so many years ago that the Council of Mortgage Lenders was trying to put together its industry electronic trading initiative ...more

Money to Burn - 11^th July 2002

By the time you read this you will no doubt be digesting the implications, for better or worse, of the Sandler report. Sandler will be the most talked about document of the second half of the year - at least until the FSA publishes its draft rules on depolarisation...more

The Review from Here - 25^th July 2002

If nothing else, last week's reports from Messrs Sandler and Pickering seem to contain something for everyone to dislike.   The FSA will probably not like being told that it has to start providing far more guidance on what it is expecting from the rules...more

The Missing Links - 22^nd August 2002

One thing this year has not been short of is consultation papers on reforming the industry.   The last few weeks have been no exception. Following hot on the heels of the Sandler and Pickering reports, we now have the FSA's CP146 on regulating mortgage sales...more

Are Jobs Going East? - 5^th September 2002

It is possibly a little early into the new millennium to start thinking about who journalists will be identifying in 2999 as the best and the worst politicians of the previous 1,000 years. But it has to be a fair bet that when it comes to the most incompetent Chancellor, Gordon Brown...more

And So to Ed - 19^th September 2002

It is only human nature not to like exams. On the other hand, most people in the industry probably now accept them as a necessary evil. Financial advisers want to be recognised as professionals and have their services treated as valuable by their clients ...more

Supermarket Forces - 3^rd October 2002

There can be no questioning the fact that fund supermarkets have had a dramatic impact on the personal investment market in the past couple of years.   Virtually unheard of in the UK three years ago, recent research carried out by Cofunds suggests ...more

It's a Wrap - 17^th October 2002

It is hard to disagree with the contention that the current economic model operated by most IFAs is broken.  The days of big upfront indemnity commission is gone.  That the industry needs to make a transition to a more professional method of operation... 

Advisers to get Wake Up Call - 31^st October 2002

In my last couple of columns, I have looked at ways in which fund supermarkets and other technology-based services such as wrap accounts can provide IFAs with opportunities to restructure their proposition to customers and the way in which they are remunerated ...more

Top of the Forum - 14^th November 2002

At the start of 2002, one of my main personal objectives for the year was to try to make a significant contribution to advancing the co-operation between advisers and product manufacturers.  The principal vehicle for this has been the Adviser Technology Forum (ATF)and membership of the forum has been steadily growing...more

First Class Delivery - 28^th November 2002

Next year is going to be very difficult for the financial services industry. Twelve months ago, few people would have expected that things could actually get worse in 2002. How wrong they were.  Undoubtedly, e-commerce will come in for more than its fair share of economies by many companies...more

Plus Adds Up the Sums - 12^th December 2002

Few companies have as consistent a record when it comes to delivering e-commerce services for IFAs as Scottish Life. Over the last few months, the company has made some significant enhancements to its IF@plus ...more

Money Marketing Columns - 2001

A Question of Cost - 4^th January 2001

As the 21st Century really gets started (the year 2000 having really been the last year of the 20th Century), it is an ideal time to think about what will be the characteristics of the successful 21st Century adviser...more

Broadband Leaders - 11^th January 2001

The two most common complaints I hear from IFAs about online services are that they are slow and phone charges can make them expensive. Both are valid criticisms. It is not without reason that all too often the internet is referred to as the World Wide Wait...more

Click and Choose - 18^th January 2001

Despite an increasing number of dotcom failures, I have been encouraged to see solid evidence in the last few weeks that the use of online financial services is still in the ascendancy...more

Skandia Protects & Serves - 25^th January 2001

Anyone putting together a list of the life offices that have made the most progress in the use of technology generally - and e-commerce particularly - over the last couple of years would be sure to find Skandia fairly near the top...more

It's a Wonderful Life - 1^st February 2001

I was not quite sure if I should laugh or cry a few minutes into my recent meeting with Jim Smith, Scottish Life's Head of eCommerce.  Jim had just calmly told me "a lot of the ideas we have built into the new service are from something you came up with, Ian..."

Cofunds Looks to the Morning Star - 8^th February 2001

It is understandable that the vast majority of attention on CP80 has been focused on the widening of the current tied environment to allow product providers to sell adopted products as well as their own...more

Mortgage IFAs Grasping the Internet Nettle - 22^nd February 2001

Considering the amount of time and money that is spent by a wide number of organisations designing and delivering technology aimed at persuading IFAs to use e-commerce, I am amazed at the lack of hard research on what advisers really want from such tools...more

The Web Will Set You Flying - 1^st March 2001

For the last couple of years, one of my regular activities has been speaking about the effect of e-commerce at the various IFA UK shows around the country. Only two years ago virtually all the content I was covering in these sessions involved looking at services that were operating in the US ...more

Starting Small - 7^th March 2001

On the same day that the Queen was crowned, the news was released that Edmund Hillary had climbed Mount Everest.   It sometimes feels that encouraging the use of e-commerce in our industry is an equally daunting task but the important thing to remember is that Hillary achieved that climb one step at a time...more

Positive Results to e-Solutions - 8^th March 2001

One of the key conclusions of the strategic review into the future of technology in the IFA market, carried out by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young last August, was that in the 80s and 90s small advisers had needed compliance clubs (networks).  However in the 21^st century...

No Easy Road - 15^th March 2001

OK, so now it looks fairly official. The FSA has totally lost the plot on stakeholder. Tony and his cronies gave every indication before they came in to power that they would enforce price control on financial products, without the slightest regard for the realities of the world...more

Keeping it Simple - 22^nd March 2001

When is an IFA not an IFA? No, this not a question about polarisation, more an examination of the sort of organisations which are increasingly looking to become financial services providers.   Perhaps the question should be more along the lines of Can you recognise the IFA of the future?...more

Window to the Web - 29^th March 2001

Fax machines did not really take off as a method of business communication until the mid-1980s. When they did, within just a couple of years, the appearance of a fax number on a company's letterhead changed from being exceptional to something expected of any efficient business...more

Living on an Island - 5^th April 2001

The first phrase that comes to mind when I look at the difficulties being experienced by the managed funds industry's struggling e-commerce initiative EMX has to be "I told you so." Over the last two years, the project has exhibited classic symptoms of a service doomed to failure...more

In the Lap of Luxury - 12^th April 2001

The recent research carried out by my organisation on behalf of IFonline into the use of technology by mortgage advisers identified that as many as a third of all advisers now use laptop PCs as opposed to desktop machines.
Personally, I have long been a convert to the benefits of having a PC that can go anywhere...more

eBusiness is Booming - 19^th April 2001

With the end of tax business rush safely out of the way, now is a good time for IFAs to spend investigating some of the new technology products and services that have emerged over the last few months.  None of these can be more important than the electronic new business...

Office Revolution - 26^th April 2001

If there is a software package that really has something for everyone it must be Microsoft Office - whether it is producing documents in Word, creating presentations with PowerPoint, carrying out numerical analysis with Excel or using Access to organise all sorts of data ...

Mix the Old and New - 3^rd May 2001

A highly contentious statement at the beginning of a press release is a well known way to attract attention. But you can easily be accused of talking up your own interests.  I fear that Forrester Research may have fallen into exactly that trap with the press release...more

Who's Life Policy Is It, Anyway? - 10^th May 2001

The news that online travel company Expedia has moved into profit a year ahead of schedule and that e-bookers is reporting smaller than expected losses suggests not all areas of the online community are suffering as much as others...more

Winner on Aggregate - 17^th May 2001

It can be uncanny sometimes how things can come together. No sooner had I emailed last week's article on aggregation to Money Marketing, I answered my phone to Euan Robertson, development director of Spektra Systems ...more

Zipadee-Doo-Dah - 24^th May 2001

As I write this column, weather reports in the background remind me that some things in life are almost inevitable. Today is the first day of the Lord's Test and, of course, rain is expected. In my experience, the equivalent situation with technology is that if it is going to let you down it is going to happen when you need it most...more

Breaking Barriers - 31^st May 2001

What will make more IFAs adopt e-commerce services? This is the issue I spend a large amount of my time considering and is addressed by two recent research reports with, I believe, varying degrees of success.   The first, to which Swiss Life has given me exclusive access for this column...more

Brain Strain - 7^th June 2001

The purchase by Halifax, Nationwide and Alliance & Leicester of a controlling interest in the mortgage sourcing and packaging company Mortgage Brain is yet another fascinating twist in the progress of the mortgage market towards electronic trading... more

Less than Special Delivery - 14^th June 2001

Skandia's decision to introduce a higher commission level for IFAs who choose to submit Isa business electronically to its Multi-Fund Shop is a positive and entirely appropriate step in the advancement of electronic trading...more

Neutral Territory - 21^st June 2001

Last week, on a round-trip train journey between London and Leeds, I had to read all 134 pages of the FSA's approach to the regulation of e-commerce. Somewhere around page 50, I found myself looking for a door to jump out of. Unfortunately on the current GNER rolling stock you cannot do this while the train is moving...more

Misys Makes a Match - 28^th June 2001

If it is not a marriage made in heaven, the acquisition of DBS and its Assureweb subsidiary by Misys must be a marriage made in cyberspace.  Clearly, there is a wide range of issues that need to be addressed when
considering if the takeover in its entirety is a good thing, but from a pure technology perspective...more

A Stronger Link - 5^th July 2001

One way in which IFAs can use e-commerce to enhance their businesses is to add services to their own websites allowing clients to access information out of office hours.
Such services can take many forms, giving clients access to details of their investments 24 hours a day...more

Tuning in to Broadband - 12^th July 2001

The prospect of high-speed access that is always on, delivered for a flat fixed fee must be one that is highly attractive to any regular internet user.  This is what is promised in the advent of broadband services.  We have had to learn to love the web (or not as the case may be) using unreliable dial-up connections at slow speed ...

Death in Zenith? - 19^th July 2001

The state of the market and in particular, distribution, were the subjects of a debate on the former Royal Yacht Britannia recently.  The event, entitled ‘Depolarisation, the end of the IFA?' was the first of a series organised for senior industry executives by IBM ...more

Light Up Your Website - 26^th July 2001

One of the most important decisions for any IFA is who they should be using to build their internet presence. In reaching such a decision, it is essential in my view that they opt for a supplier that has considerable experience in the financial services industry ...more

Smart Thinking - 2^nd August 2001

As October 8 approaches, there are strong suggestions around the market that there are just not enough advisers to meet the demand from employers to set up schemes before they face the prospect of a potentially stinging Opra fine.   In the rush to establish stakeholder ...more

Document Download - 9^th August 2001

One of the perennial problems for IFAs is making sure they have an adequate supply of fully up to date literature from product providers.  Brochures, application forms, generic key features documents and many more change on a regular basis ...more

Self-Service Stations - 16^th August 2001

As someone who spends much of his time identifying ways that technology can help IFAs, it is worrying to see some advisers not taking best advantage of the opportunities that new media can offer. This was brought home to me when reading ...more

Sony and yet So Far - 23^rd August 2001

Not so long ago, anyone who suggested you buy a new PC from Sony would have got a very curious look from most people. Over the last couple of years, however, the people who gave the world the Walkman have moved increasingly into the mainstream of digital ...more

Improved Outlook - 30^th August 2001

When I first looked at the latest XP version of Microsoft's Office desktop software suite, my initial thought was that the new functionality sounded attractive but I was yet to be convinced whether it was worth the additional outlay to upgrade...

Express Concerns - 6^th September 2001

There can be little doubt that for the vast majority of industries the pressure to e-enable every possible part of their business has diminished in recent months.   Life may never be the same again for booksellers or record...more

Whose Strife Is It, Anyway? - 13^th September 2001

For many years, Ernst & Young Consulting's annual global survey on the use of technology in financial services has been an essential aid to anyone wanting to have a clear understanding of their own organisation's position relative to their peers in this important area...more

Charging Ahead - 20^th September 2001

Few people in the industry will be surprised by the underwhelming level of take-up for the Government's flagship stakeholder pension regime.   If you wanted to be really kind to Messrs Blair, Brown et al, you could say that all the effort so far has gone into establishing ...more

Portal Perfection? - 27^th September 2001

Last week saw yet another twist in the tale of consolidation in the IFA technology provider market with the announcement of the agreed takeover of Exchange FS, holding company of the Exchange portal by Marlborough Stirling.   Although the Cheltenham-based ...more

Systems Failure - 4^th October 2001

Although a small but significant number of life offices have been building the extent of their new business being rec-eived electronically, on the whole, it would be fair to say that IFAs are not exactly leaping to take advantage of the various tools...more

Broadband is Swinging - 11^th October 2001

As I have reported previously on this page, for the last few months, I have had the questionable privilege of using a review version of BT's Openworld ADSL service.   It would be fair to say that when I last wrote about this...more

Automatic for the People - 18^th October 2001

If there was any doubt that the 1 per cent world is well and truly with us, it is confirmed by the news that Scottish Amicable has withdrawn indemnity commission from stakeholder products.   This demonstrates all too clearly the harsh financial environment...more

Market Forces - 25^th October 2001

There can be no questioning the fact that fund supermarkets have had a dramatic impact on the personal investment market in the past couple of years.   Virtually unheard of in the UK three years ago, recent research carried out by Cofunds...more

Are you Xperienced? - 1^st November 2001

A couple of months ago I was talking to our office network manager about buying a new PC for a member of my family.  The question was did I buy it then or wait until Windows XP was released. His immediate reaction was: "Why would you want to buy a PC with an unproven operating system?"...more

Acrobat on Top Form - 8^th November 2001

It is quite rare for software to get to the stage where you can say it is truly ubiquitous.  In most things there is at least an alternative.  If you do not want to use Microsoft Office you can use Lotus Smartsuite or Sun's Star Office.  If you do not want to use Internet Explorer...

Will Selestia be a Star? - 15^th November 2001

Last week a member of the news team at Money Marketing asked me if I thought that Selestia was too late coming into the market to gain significant market share. My reaction was that rather than being late to come to an old market ...more

The Prudent Approach - 22^nd November 2001

While the industry-wide electronic new business initiative struggles to reach anything like acceptable levels of usage, there are a small but significant number of life offices which are attracting electronic new business over their websites ...more

Compliance Conundrum - 29^th November 2001

The news that the CML has called for a delay in implementing mortgage regulation beyond the current proposed dates next August can come as no surprise.
What would be very surprising is if they have any success...more

Co-operative Society - 13^th December 2001

Christmas is the traditional time to put aside differences and offer goodwill to all men. It is also a time for looking forward, so I want to look at how we could change our industry to make it a better place for providers, advisers and consumers.   It never ceases to amaze me ...more