IRESS has continued to develop XPLAN into a world class financial planning application.

XPLAN has achieved the highest benchmark score for any financial planning application in the seven years of the Investment Trends Planning Software Report.

XPLAN was top rated, followed by Coin and AdviserNETgain.

The top rated Hybrid planning/platform integrated planning application was AdviserNETgain/Asgard.

FOFA development has been completed with a new development focus on engagement.

FOFA development has been completed with a range of enhancements to client service package management which give planners the ability to individually manage service package elements and control the level of reporting detail in client Fee Disclosure Statements.

The completion of FOFA development marks the end of several years of software development focussed on practice operations.

“Vendors have moved on from FOFA to refresh application interfaces, mobile functionality development and client engagement,” said Investment Trends Analyst Ian Webster. “Vendors are trying to improve planning efficiency by connecting planners and clients to practice workflow wherever they are.”

Vendors have moved to ensure their online applications are supported on tablets with IRESS and recently Coin releasing tablet apps with planner and client access.

IFAs, institutions and superannuation funds are using technology to deliver a range of scaled advice services.

The introduction of scaled advice has prompted the development of several new online planning applications and services as well as planning practices starting to use technology like video, social media and self-directed advice to develop new client relationships.

“Scaled advice may be an enduring legacy of the FOFA reforms,” said Ian Webster. “After several years focused on developing planning operations functionality for comprehensive planning, vendors are turning their attention to a broader range of advice delivery services.”

Provisio was surveyed as the best superannuation scaled advice application.

Projection based engagement has been a feature of superannuation fund websites for many years. In recent years financial calculators have been replaced by projection based self-directed advice recommendation services and call centre based scaled advice applications for superannuation advice provision.

“Provisio has been part of the development of superannuation advice technology for many years and has been joined by several other applications offering different approaches to scaled superannuation advice delivery,” said Ian Webster. “Rubik’s Proviso was surveyed as the best superannuation scaled application followed by Decimal and XPLAN Engage.”

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