Indeed, Origo's Rafferty describes valuations, bulk valuations, account opening, remuneration and transfer tracking as key tasks for firms in delivering service to clients, or improving the remuneration process.
Integrated valuation statements, for example, can help firms produce suitability and review reports faster, notes Rafferty, and integrated remuneration can help firms be paid quicker.
“There is a knock-on effect here, in that it then frees up staff time to work on other areas of the business, rather than being tied to manually inputting and checking data.”
He highlights how time can then be spent dealing with more cases, or focusing on tasks that add value to the client and the business.
“It provides the scope to either increase the volume of work a firm can handle, and/or deploy staff to other tasks that will help deliver more and better value to clients, helping to improve retention and new business rates,” says Rafferty.
And although management information on a platform is generally very accurate, Pourshoushtari at Platforum notes how business is commonly placed on multiple platforms, with individual clients also sometimes having assets on more than one platform.
“Having platform and back-office integration should allow the back office to aggregate the platform data seamlessly with its own records and data from other providers, offering a richer picture of the health of the advice business,” says Pourshoushtari.
Chloe Cheung is a senior features writer at FT Adviser
