Every IFA is short on time so if things can be done to free-up time in your day I bet you might be interested. You can’t cut time from client meetings and you can’t say no to every industry event but what about all the preparation that goes into your service proposition? A good process can make this preparation more efficient and more effective. So how do you implement one?
I’ll go out on a limb and say three quarters of IFAs in the UK could use some help with process. Some firms use a process provided by their network or compliance people. Some firms have put some thought into a process but fall short in implementing it. And some firms just do not follow a process – relying on a collection of tools to provide bespoke service to each and every client.
To implement a good process, or improve an existing one, I’ve found that getting everyone on the same page is a good start. If you have a paraplanner that takes care of much of the preparation, do they know how the information is presented to clients? Do other advisers in your business follow the same process or do they have their own way of doing things? And if someone goes on holiday, does the whole thing come screeching to a halt?
If you have a great process in place, please stop reading and give yourself a pat on the back. If you think you could be more efficient, more consistent or provide a better service, below are some tools within Adviser Workstation that can be used to improve your process or more effectively implement one:
Research
- Create investment lists to give you instant access to all the funds you work with regularly, all the funds in an asset class, all funds that can be used in an ISA, or all top rated funds.
- Build custom searches to automate your research process. Easily see up-to-date results for all funds in a sector, category, region or that match any of your own criteria.
- Create your own views so you can instantly access relevant data and statistics when reviewing your fund panels.
Client Reporting
- Import your client portfolios from your wrap platform(s) for instant access to portfolio analysis tools.
- Setup report templates for different client groups so client reporting is done automatically each month, each quarter, each year or whenever reports are needed.
- Post client reports to the web portal so your clients can view their portfolio analysis securely, online.
Attracting and Signing New Business
- Create hypothetical illustrations showing how a portfolio would have performed over time as well as the effects of fees, rebalancing or taking income as opposed to re-investing dividends.
- Build and maintain your model portfolios on the system for instant analysis anytime.
- Use the investment plan tool to asses a clients risk level, recommend an asset allocation and then recommend a model portfolio to match it.
Monitoring Clients and Securities
- Set alerts on lists of funds or for clients so you are notified when there is a manager change, a rating change or a large price movement, for example.
- Compare the asset allocation of a client’s portfolio with that of a model
- Build and maintain your own benchmarks for accurate portfolio benchmarking
For more helpful tips, feel free to contact me by email – jim dot murphy @ Morningstar dot com