Over the last year I have written many times about the bewildering number of front and back office systems that are currently available on the market to the IFAs. But each of the systems continues to have their own success and the market seems undiminished.
A recent Study performed by True Potential confirms the size of the opportunity these companies are vying for. The study showed that around 43% of IFAs still either have no technology at all or use their own systems – either paper based or spreadsheets. When the study looked beyond this headline figure the results were equally stark, paper is the dominant method for collecting, filing and reporting on client and company data. Indeed the only process that isn’t overwhelmingly led by paper is the valuations’ process.
With such poor take up of technology it was unsurprising to see that a ratio of three administrators to every four advisers existed. Contrast this to technology led distributors such as True Potential’s largest client Positive Solutions, who have a ratio of 33 to 1 and you can already see a powerful business case for technology. Add to this the compliance benefits/demands, customer expectations, and adviser efficiency gains and the case for technology is compelling. Surely the 43% will shrink drastically in the coming months!
