Adviser Software Can Simplify Compliance

For financial advisers, an administrative process begins with every new client. It involves information gathering, planning, documentation and communications, not to mention the internal checks and approvals required.

When these activities are scattered across several software packages, spreadsheets and email threads, keeping everything moving in the right direction is a challenge. Hours can be lost chasing signatures, checking progress and recreating information already held elsewhere. When the time finally comes to establish if a case is ready for review, this is a task in itself.

Using an all-in-one platform, like AdviceObjects, makes the client journey easier to manage and ensures important compliance benchmarks are not overlooked. By bringing tasks, suitability letters and client portal interactions together in one environment, we help teams organise the work efficiently.

A clear starting point

Different types of advice necessitate different activities and supporting records. An annual review, new investment recommendation and pension drawdown will not necessarily follow the same process.

AdviceObjects allows you to organise cases by type, giving each category an appropriate structure. Checklists then make the required steps more visible, helping advisers, paraplanners and administrators understand what needs to be completed. For example, the checklist might cover:

·        Confirming client information

·        Reviewing risk profiling

·        Completing cashflow analysis

·        Preparing a suitability letter

·        Obtaining internal sign-off

These steps should reflect your procedures and the circumstances of the case, creating a consistent starting point and allowing teams to apply professional judgement. They also make it easier for another colleague to pick up the work, if necessary, without having to reconstruct the client’s history. If staff have to create tasks manually, or maintain a separate diary of follow-ups, much of the administrative burden remains.

Our platform automates task creation and reminders to help translate the advice process into work that can be tracked, giving your management and compliance teams valuable regulatory data. You can set due dates, monitor task status and receive daily reminders of the work that needs attention. This helps answer practical questions, such as:

·        What must be completed today?

·        Which tasks are approaching or have passed their due dates?

·        What is stopping a case progressing?

·        Which cases are awaiting compliance review or sign-off?

By providing each individual with a clear view of priorities, it’s easier for managers to identify outstanding work, support timely follow-ups and facilitate better coordination.

Progress via a portal

Moving a case forward often depends on the client reviewing terms, providing information or signing documents. Printing, posting and chasing can result in frustration and unnecessary delays for all concerned.

AdviceObjects’ users share terms and obtain electronic signatures via the client portal, allowing these interactions to become part of the wider case process and reducing time and administration costs.

For clients, this offers a more convenient way to complete necessary actions and for firms, it reduces paper handling and the need to coordinate separate information channels. This leaves you more time to manage tasks and follow-ups alongside the other work required to move the case forward.

Integrating supporting records

Good financial advice relies on meeting notes, fact-finds, risk assessments, cashflow plans, correspondence and supporting documents. When these records sit in different places, case reviewers may ask for information that it takes a considerable amount to time to collate.

AdviceObjects enables multiple client records to be linked from across the platform, bringing supporting material together and allowing you to connect all the relevant information to each client. A paraplanner can then access everything needed to prepare the advice and a reviewer is able to examine the case in full. When everyone is working from a coherent case record, it is easier to explain what has happened and justify the decisions made.

Fee administration is another area where disconnected processes create additional work. If financial records are kept separately from advice, staff need to remember to reconcile them before invoices are prepared.  

We automatically generate fee records by case type, so they become part of the advice process. This helps teams maintain a clearer connection between a case and its costs, which can then be checked against the agreed client terms as part of the firm’s normal controls.

Suitability letters

Preparing traditional suitability documentation involves entering information collected about a client repeatedly. This takes time and opens the door for inconsistencies to creep in between the client record and final letter.

We have integrated a suite of ready-made, compliance-checked suitability letters into AdviceObjects that can be pre-populated with data held on the platform. This gives a structured starting point to the process and reduces re-keying.

The advantages don’t stop there. As part of a connected case process, teams can refer to the relevant fact-find, meeting notes, risk profiling and cashflow analysis when completing a suitability letter. Pre-filled information still needs to be checked and the content tailored to the client, but the automation involved reduces the process to just 30 minutes, giving you more time to spend on explanation, reasoning and review.

Keep compliance visible

Knowing a case exists is not enough to maintain compliance. As workloads grow, teams need to understand the status of each client, what is pending, what requires review and when sign-off has been achieved.

The information provided by AdviceObjects helps managers identify where attention is needed and allows colleagues a shared understanding of a case’s progress. By making pending items more visible, we help you direct your efforts more effectively.

Technology can’t replace your regulatory responsibilities, or the judgement needed to deliver suitable advice. What it can do, however, is reduce administrative friction throughout the client journey, making it more consistent, visible and manageable.

To find out how the AdviceObjects platform simplifies administration and compliance, don’t hesitate to contact us for an initial discussion or demonstration. Alternatively, email: contact@adviceobjects.com