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The Key to Mobile Choice - 17 December 2009

The IFA market is, for the most part, not renowned for embracing new technology.  Mobile phones, however, are a notable exception and have long been a standard part of any adviser's equipment.  Many new devices are launched for the Christmas market so this week's column looks at a few contenders..... more

 The Future of Advice - 3 December 2009

In recent weeks, an increasing number of people have been asking me what the financial advice company of the future will look like and the more I examine this issue, the more I come to the conclusion that it will be radically different to the businesses that have dominated financial product distribution for the last 40 years.  During this time, face-to-face... more 

Brain Wave - 19 November 2009

The RDR is not a subject that fosters unanimous views in our industry but one of the few things that most people will agree with is there will be fewer advisers while another is that the cost of traditional face-to-face advice to consumers will increase.  One of the main challenges facing adviser firms must be to decide if they will restrict their activities to the main... more    

Integrate Expectations - 5 November 2009

This column needs to start with a health warning.  If you work for a platform or wrap provider and have a heart condition, blood pressure or similar ailment, it is probably best to move to the next article.  Every once in a while as a columnist you need to write an article that is going to upset a lot of people, but that is no reason for not identifying changes that... more

Science fiction has an uncanny knack of predicting the future.  Over the last 20 years many things that would previously have been thought of as fantasy have now become fact.  Mobile communication devices, handheld personal computers and electronic books all featured prominently in the original 1960s Star Trek series, yet today these devices... more 

Tales from the Encrypt - 8 October 2009

Over the last couple of columns, I have looked at the overall state of the IFA software market and how advisers should approach selecting the right system for their individual needs.  This week, I want to look at what appears to me to be the fast evolving system in the market.  It is one which should be considered in detail by any organisation looking to prepare... more 

System Selection - 24 September 2009

There is one decision that will have a greater impact than anything else on the future growth and profitability of an adviser firm - choosing the right client management system.  Get this decision right and advisers can automate many time-consuming and profit-eroding practices, leaving them free to increase the amount of time they can spend with clients... more 

A Rich Portal Vein - 10 September 2009

The news that Lloyds TSB's venture capital arm has invested £42m to become the biggest shareholder in 1st/The Exchange provides an opportunity to review the state of the IFA software market.  Through its Exchange portal and the Adviser Office client management system, the business has long been the dominant supplier in the IFA technology market.  Hopefully, these recent events will bring to an end a pass-the-parcel-like process that has... more

The MP3 player and its various derivatives have brought major changes to everyday life.  Anyone travelling on public transport cannot help but notice that half the population now travel wearing headphones.  Finding ways to get information to people while commuting, in what is otherwise a dead part of their day, must be one of the greatest... more

The news that from 2010, the Information Commissioner's Office will be given the power to impose fines for data protection breaches should serve as a reminder to anyone involved in handling client data of the importance of being diligent at all times.  Although it may not be immediately obvious, IFAs are in the front line when it comes to... more

You can always tell when a holiday season is approaching.  Those nice folk down at Canary Wharf come up with a nice big consultation paper for all of us to read.  Who wants to be sitting on the beach reading the latest offering from John Grisham or Matt Beaumont when you can thrill to the joys of CP09/18?  This summer's blockbuster from the FSA... more

The financial services industry has broadly welcomed the proposals in CP09/18, the majority of which can be a huge benefit to the industry.  I am also delighted Aifa's Chris Cummings seems to have continued his Batman impression against the dark forces of the ABI and the BBA in convincing the FSA that... more 

Life Lessons - 2 July 2009

Last week's publication of the next phase of the FSA consultation process on the retail distribution review reconfirmed the death of commission as a method of paying for independent advice.  This must bring about an unparalleled change in the operating procedures for IFAs, leading to unprecedented change in... more

It is not hard to form the conclusion that the FSA is increasingly concerned about the financial strength of elements of the wrap and platform market.  Many of the players are parts of institutional financial services businesses with resources measured in billions but at the other end of the scale, others are significantly smaller.  So far, all the players that have... more 

A new Lisa of life - 4 June 2009

I suspect I was not the only person who, when confronted last Christmas by the massive Aviva rebranding campaign, questioned the value of such spending in the current economic climate.  In recent weeks, however, I have formed a very different view.  Based on a range of services that have been demonstrated to me, this is not just a rebrand... more

Save us from pension folly - 21 May 2009

Over the last few years, I have become increasingly confused when people in our industry refer to the "opportunity" from personal accounts.  I think it says a great deal about the extent to which the financial services community always looks for the positive that a disaster of such gargantuan proportions... more 

Remote control - 7 May 2009

The possibility of a flu pandemic may mean that businesses need staff to work at home to cut the risk of infection.  For most adviser firms, this should be relatively easy to achieve with just a couple of software applications and the good news is most of these can be accessed for free... more 

Loose connection - 23 April 2009

I find it disappointing when life companies do some really good work which is undermined by failing to recognise basic issues about how IFAs work.  By definition, IFAs deal with a wide range of providers.  In my experience, advisers want to be able to operate consistent processes which enable them to manage information and client cases within their... more 

Quick on the drawdown - 9 April 2009

My favourite software systems enable IFAs to make large amounts of money by helping customers find better financial products.  I am always delighted when I come across another of the very few systems that can genuinely deliver such benefits.  Selectapension's new income drawdown comparison system is one such product.  One of my favourite systems... more 

Set your sights high - 26 March 2009

Even though the internet has now become fully embedded in our everyday lives, it is easy to underestimate what a dramatic effect it has had on the behaviour of businesses and consumers.  For example, various studies identify that last year, mainstream television networks, both in the US and UK... more

All software companies talk about making life easier for users but in the IFA market all too often the reality seldom lives up to the promises.  If there is one group of people who have time after time delivered what they said they would, it is the team behind True Potential - both in their previous incarnation... more

Identifying how best to adapt their businesses to operate in a post-RDR environment is probably the main strategic challenge taxing anyone running an adviser firm today.  Clearly the new regime offers enormous opportunities to change the way IFAs operate.  For some, this will simply be formalising changes they have been moving torwards for some time... more

Moves indicated by the FSA towards more equal treatment of platforms, when compared with other investment providers, raise some fascinating questions.  I think this provides the opportunity to concentrate on consumer value rather than debating which types of provider is perferable.  If, as it now appears, independence will require a choice of wrapper... more

Even the most cursory reading of the recent FSA thematic review, Quality of Advice on Pensions Switching, makes it clear that many of the challenges the regulator is making to advisers are points that have frequently been made before.  Given that the regulator assessed advice to be unsuitable in just 16 per cent of the cases it examined... more 

You've got email responsibilities - 15 January 2009

Few things can be predicted about 2009 with any degree of certainty.  For entirely understandable reasons, many market commentators have declined to forecast what can be expected for financial indicies or house prices by the year-end.  Some things, however, are certain.  One of these is that data security will come under far greater scrutiny... more