Clients are increasingly aware of what they are paying for and seeking value for money, but the requirements for advisers are getting tougher.
With this in mind, a number of providers are improving the service they offer advisers to help support the added administration burden and allow them to focus their time on building sustainable client relationships.
One area in which this is most prevalent is the development of digital services.
So what are the ways digital services can transform your business?
Instant access, from anywhere for you and your clients
The move from paper-based applications and filing systems to digital storage has quite simply revolutionised things for both clients and advisers.
Processes are more efficient, meetings are no longer confined to the office and accounts can be monitored anywhere there is a web connection.
Many systems, such as Wealth In teractive, Skandia International’s digital service, provide both advisers and clients with personalised home pages, giving them control over what information they see.
With the onset of mobile banking people expect to be able to view their accounts whenever they want and their investments are no different.
This instant access gives clients peace of mind about how their investments are performing and additionally gives them a greater opportunity to better understand the impact of global economic changes upon their portfolio.
Ease of switching ability to react to market changes
By using an online portal, advisers can quickly and easily make changes to clients’ accounts, without the burden of paperwork and having to contact providers.
With up-to-date fund statistics available around the clock, not to mention a wealth of product and industry news, it is easier to make informed choices relating to a client’s investments.
And with online validation, costly errors can be minimised and transactions completed more efficiently.
This can be incredibly useful if there is a sudden change in the markets that you need to react to.
Clients’ investments can be altered immediately, if necessary, ultimately helping to highlight the value of your service.
Online tools making conversations with clients easier
Not only does an improvement in technology mean advisers have a huge range of technical resource available at their fingertips, but by using online tools, such as risk profiling applications, the advice process itself is made easier.
You can quickly determine your client’s attitude to risk as well as easily demonstrate what this means in real terms.
This helps simplify client conversations and ensures you truly understand their needs and expectations, and in turn your client better understands your recommendations.
Profiling tools not only help with the initial fact-finding phase but they also make it easier to conduct ongoing asset allocation reviews, ensuring client’s expectations are more closely aligned throughout their financial journey.
Seamless communication between you and your clients
By using an online portal with access for both the adviser and the client, advisers can easily communicate any activity they conduct on client’s portfolios.
It is easy to run reports and create illustrations to show portfolio performance.
This, in turn, makes clients feel closer to their adviser and more involved in the process.
Simple access to client records
Holding all client records in one place not only gives you a cleaner and more accessible audit trail, it will make finding all relevant information relating to a single client easier.
With online portals, advisers can allocate access to different members of their team; ensuring that information is kept secure and the people who need access to certain elements of client records have it.
At Skandia International, we believe it is the responsibility of providers to do more to help advisers to increase their business efficiency.
Technological developments are a vital part of this, making life easier for advisers and their clients, and ultimately aiding the advice process.
