From funds management through product manufacturing, administration and distribution, the big players were seen as the only beneficiaries of vertical integration.

The right technology can achieve similar benefits for licensees and planners.

“While the advantages of scale and integration enjoyed by institutional wealth firms are clear, technology can help bridge that gap in the non-aligned advice market,” said Wes Gillett from HUB24.

Good platform technology can facilitate an extension of value for all channel participants, co-owned or otherwise.

The new platform world can facilitate a licensee’s entry into administration by quick and cost effective bespoke white labelling of wrap offerings.

Once the scope is clear, a white label should take no more than 4-6 weeks ideally. The same technology can now integrate bespoke investment solutions for those same enterprises, enabling further value creation.

New and nimble independent players like HUB24 also support extension of service and value for individual practices by offering broader investment, insurance and lending choices and tighter integration with SMSF administration, front end advice tools, and CRM applications. These same technologies can also assist with efficient marketing and client engagement.

This advanced technology can be deployed to fund managers too

Fund managers can win as well with better technology that integrates with the administration platforms.

“Through our ManagerHUB, fund managers are able to quickly and easily facilitate their entry into the managed account world and reduce business overhead in managing client assets,” according to Wes.

Platform price wars are largely over … integration/functionality is the new challenge

“I believe it is important for our industry to fundamentally change the context of a platform from a one-dimensional product transaction and reporting engine into a total business solution that can broaden service offering, increase revenue and realise the benefit of ‘virtual vertical integration.’

“It’s an exciting time for technology players in our industry, and the pace of change will ensure speed and flexibility become the hallmark of success. The price race has largely been run, with cost effective administration accessible to all. The focus now is turning to integration and functionality, and how technology can leverage all elements of the value chain for licensees, advisers and clients alike,” said Mr Gillett.

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Technology changing the landscape

IT Technology has changed and keeps changing many things about how we execute our jobs and business. It’s changed the way we find and are found by clients and the way we interact with them before, during and after a project.

The following paragraphs will elaborate on how the Internet is changing the financial and insurance industry in Australia, for the better. And the Visual Guide by Lifedeal.com.au helps to illustrate it.

• In the year 2011 – 2012, approximately $237 billion was earned by Australian Businesses through the help of the internet. These figures are according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Summary of IT Use & Innovation in Australian Businesses 2011 – 012.
• In the year 2011 – 2012, the total online business done in Australia was at 45%; whereas the total offline business done in Australia was at 55%. This means that the former had a web presence on the internet whereas the latter did not have a web presence on the internet. Moreover, 55% companies with an online web presence, placed orders through the internet; while 45% companies without an online presence did not place an online through the internet. In addition, the businesses involved in innovative activities in these years, jumped from a mere 39% to 47%.
• In the year 2011, only 14% of all small businesses had a social media presence, but this number increased to 27% in the year 2012 and as of 2013, this number has increased to 30%. This means that approximately 30% of all small businesses now have a social media presence due to the internet. Similarly, in the year 2011, only 25% of medium companies had a social media presence, this number increased to 34% in the year 2012 and in the year 2013, 47% of all medium companies in Australia have a social media presence. In the year 2011, only 50% of large businesses had a social media presence, this number increased to 79% in the year 2012 and 2013.
• In the year 2011 – 2012, approximately 65% of businesses in the insurance and financial sector have placed orders on the internet.

Conclusion

The above paragraphs indicate that the internet has improved the scope of business for the insurance and financial industry in Australia. If you still have any doubts about the effectiveness of using the internet to reach your target audience then you should note that, financial advisors are now using social media sites since they understand the impact these sites can have on customers and clients.

Facebook is being used by 48.5% of these professionals; LinkedIn and YouTube are being used by 39.9% and 27.8% of financial advisors respectively. Over 75% of insurance and mortgage brokers in Australia are planning on increasing their level of engagement with various types of social media networks in the year 2013 – 2014.

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2013 Planner Technology Report released

Key findings of the Investment Trends 2013 Planner Technology Report:

• XPLAN continues to lead the planning software market with the largest number of adviser relationships
• Midwinter has the highest satisfaction amongst its users

IRESS leads planning software market in number of adviser relationships

IRESS’ XPLAN increased its lead in the software space following the migration of VisiPlan and MLC’s AdviserCentral users to it, and now holds 51% of primary planner relationships among software users in Australia, according to a new report released last week from leading wealth researcher Investment Trends.

In its tenth year, the May 2013 Planner Technology Report is an in-depth study of Australian financial planners and their technology needs. The study is based on a survey of 1,141 financial planners concluded in May 2013.

“The planning software market has completely morphed over the past decade,” said Investment Trends Senior Analyst Recep Peker. “Where VisiPlan used to dominate, and Microsoft Excel was used to plug the gaps, XPLAN is now the main planning tool for half of Australian planners.”

The industry has gone from the top four providers holding 56% of primary relationships in 2004, to a concentrated market where the top four now hold 87% of primary relationships.

Most used planning software by primary adviser relationships                        

Industry satisfaction levels hit a five year high

Planners’ satisfaction with their most-used software reached a five year high, although increasing only slightly from 2012.

“Versus last year, Australia’s planning software providers increased adviser satisfaction the most with constructing portfolios, capturing fact-find information, helping select investments and producing client review reports,” said Peker. “This reflects the extensive development work undertaken in these areas over the last 18 months.”

“Planners are also happier with their planning software across every element measured compared to a decade ago, though the area with the smallest growth in satisfaction, ease of use, is also the main area that planners still say they want software providers to improve.”

“Among the two large players, XPLAN had higher satisfaction than COIN, and the gap between them increased from last year,” said Peker. “Given the acquisition of COIN by Rubik, it will be interesting to see what happens to COIN’s satisfaction ratings following their new and upcoming developments including the refresh of the COIN user experience.”

Midwinter had the largest increase in users’ overall satisfaction from 2012, and the highest average overall satisfaction rating. Relative to the industry, it scored notably better for ease of use, producing simple plans and scenario modelling.

AdviserNETgain had the highest satisfaction ratings for value for money, producing comprehensive financial plans and producing client review reports.

Average time to produce a full SoA continues to decrease

“Even with planners’ clients’ needs becoming more complex, and a greater compliance burden placed on planners’ shoulders, software providers have continued to shave precious minutes from the time it takes to produce the average SoA,” said Peker. “Planners now estimate it to take over an hour less to produce a SoA than it did six years ago.”

“The greatest time savings are from editing and personalising the document, and calculations, modelling and projections.”

About Investment Trends

Investment Trends is the leading specialist market research organisation in the Australian retail wealth management industry, and also operates in the US, UK, Germany, France and Singapore. We provide new insights and decision support information to over 200 leading financial services businesses.  We combine analytical rigour and strategic thinking with the most advanced research and statistical techniques to help our clients gain competitive advantage.

Investment Trends’ clients include all of the top five Australian banks, the top ten investment platform providers, the top five online brokers, as well as industry regulators, leading margin lenders, dealer groups, financial planning software providers and risk product providers.

About the report

The results are drawn from the Investment Trends May 2013 Planner Technology Report, released to Investment Trends’ clients last week. This report was based on a survey of 1,141 financial planners in April and May 2013.

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Launched at the January 2012 Planner conference, Hillross has introduced new apps for advisers to download and use as engagement tools in client meetings. Apps can be used for quoting or provide simulation software, or scenario planning that help ‘picture your tomorrow’ so clients can understand where they are and what they need to do to achieve their goals.

Below are the eight recently introduced apps, designed to assist planners with the scoping of advice, gathering data about clients and illustrating various advice strategies. Additional apps for client engagement will be launched later this year.

• Home Loan calculator – designed to determine the minimum weekly, fortnightly or monthly loan repayments required for a specified borrowed amount over a selected period. Calculations can be performed for both ‘Principal and Interest’ or ‘Interest only’ loan types.
  Insurance needs calculator This calculator is intended to provide broad guidance on the level of insurance cover required to meet debt obligations and replace a portion of income in the event of death, TPD or temporary disablement.
• My Money Choices budget planner  –  designed to help clients to assess their current financial situation, and to give them some idea of the amount they can afford to invest. It provides for a perfect opportunity to engage consumers not currently seeking financial advice.
• My Money Choices scoping tool – this application leverages the highly popular scoping wheel and scoping pads which are currently available for use in hard copy format. The application allows planners to annotate segments of the My Money Choices wheel and to commence Fact finding with the client and records details electronically in the electronic scoping pad.
• Picture Your Tomorrow – a client engagement approach to help more Australians own their tomorrow, by first picturing it. It is a way of linking a client’s future desires with a financial plan for today. The iPad app is designed to emotionally engage new and existing clients visually. It has been designed to complement your existing advice processes.
• Risk profiler – contains the standard risk profiling questions from AMP’s Fact finder. It is designed to assess a client’s attitude to, and appetite for, investment risk. The profiler allows the client to provide answers to questions to determine the most appropriate investment strategies to match their investment risk profile.

• Super contributions calculator – designed to compare the effect on take-home pay and superannuation accounts of either making contributions to super using salary sacrifice or from after tax salary.
• Super simulator – designed to work out how much an individual may need to retire and whether they are on track. It is intended as an educational tool, helping the individual to see the long-term effects on their superannuation of the things they may be able to control, and that could have an impact such as the age at which they will retire; their investment mix; and making extra contributions.

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To mark the opening of nominations for the 2011 AFA Adviser of the Year award, Zurich Life & Investments Australia (Zurich) has launched its Zurich Life TV channel on YouTube. The channel is designed to make it easier for advisers to access video content across more devices.

To celebrate the launch, Zurich has released a series of short videos featuring the finalists from the 2010 AFA Adviser of the Year award.

Across the ‘Tips from the Top” series, last year’s finalists share insights into the key drivers of their success, with individual videos covering marketing, networking, technology and client care.

“Whilst the fundamental drivers of adviser success have remained the same for decades, the nature of those drivers is clearly evolving” said Mr Colin Morgan, Chief Executive of award sponsor Zurich Life & Investments.

“Technology and marketing are just two areas where advisers are increasingly able to differentiate themselves and the evolving social media landscape really brings these two areas together.
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“That’s why we thought YouTube was the perfect medium to share the wisdom and insights of our industry’s most elite advisers,” said Mr Morgan.
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A Zurich survey of 700 advisers earlier this year found that 10 per cent of advisers owned iPads with a further 40 per cent planning to buy an iPad or other tablet device during 2011.
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“Online content is increasingly being accessed through apps rather than traditional browsers and the launch of our YouTube channel will make our content easier to view across more mobile devices” said Mr Morgan.
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Click to view The Tips from the Top series on YouTube
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Nominations for the 2011 Adviser of the Year Award open June 1st.

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Prime Super, Australia’s only national super fund for rural and regional Australia, has agreed in principle to appoint global financial services firm Russell Investments to deliver administrative services to the fund’s 150,000 members, transferring from current provider Pillar Administration.

The new partnership, proposed to begin on 1 January 2012, will allow Prime Super to further strengthen its member and employer services with the addition of some new features.

The new initiatives include intra-fund financial planning for members wanting to discuss investment strategies, insurance, and contribution strategies, ATM access for Prime Super’s pension product and a strong member education program.

Lachlan Baird, CEO of Prime Super, said that while Pillar had provided good service and support to the fund over their eight year partnership, the additional services offered by Russell, and their technological edge, were necessary to help grow the fund.

“The decision to change administrators was not an easy one and we have undertaken a highly competitive and detailed tender process. We’ve also had a good relationship with Pillar over the life of the contract.

“Given our significant growth agenda we felt Russell’s leading edge administration model was best suited to help us achieve our goals,” Baird said.
Mark Blair, Russell’s Managing Director, Industry and Government Funds, said Russell was committed to help Prime Super drive further growth and develop more and targeted member-orientated solutions.

“We developed our administration model so that it can be tailored to the specific requirements of Australia’s largest superannuation funds”, Blair said. “We look forward to working in partnership with Prime Super to meet the individual needs of the Fund and its members.”

Driving growth and efficiencies through innovation

Baird indicated that Russell’s technology package will enhance the operations of the fund and enable Prime Super to significantly improve its online service offering to members and employers.

Russell’s data reporting capabilities were also viewed as a strength and will enable Prime Super more efficient access to fund data and assist with the decision making process for business development opportunities.

“Russell has provided us with a highly consultative approach from the outset. We have been impressed with their strong focus on member needs and innovative solutions.

“A transition plan is now in progress to formalise Prime Super’s in principle decision and we will be working closely with Pillar and Russell to ensure that members and employers have as few interruptions to service as possible during the changeover.” Baird concluded.

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MLC Wrap leverages the strengths of the Navigator and MasterKey Custom platforms, creating a platform which is rich in functionality and investment options.

MLC Wrap offers a diverse investment menu, with an integrated separately managed account service and a complete solution for self managed super fund (SMSF) investors.

Furthermore, the platform is underpinned by Navigator’s award winning technology, n-link.

Executive General Manager of MLC Investment Platforms, Michael Clancy said, “MLC Wrap is built on award winning platform technology which provides financial advisers with comprehensive reporting capabilities and online straight-through processing.

“It also has an extensive range of Adviser Service fee options, enabling advisers to collect fees for advice in the way that best suits their business model.  Options include charging flat dollar or asset based fees, indexed and tiered fees.

“In a world where advisers are transitioning to fee for service, offering flexibility in the way these fees can be collected is a critical platform capability and MLC Wrap offers the most flexibility in the market.

“With its sophisticated technology and extensive investment menu, MLC Wrap is the most feature packed platform currently available for sophisticated and high net worth investors,” Mr Clancy said.

MLC Wrap’s features include:

• An extensive range of investment options including more than 300 managed funds, ASX listed shares and other listed securities, such as exchange traded funds (ETFs), listed investment companies (LICs), interest bearing securities and instalment warrants.
• A selection of eight direct share portfolios within a separately managed account.
• Access to term deposits and a high interest cash account.
• An SMSF solution for the establishment and ongoing management of a client’s fund, including an extensive compliance and administration service.
• Access to personal insurance and margin lending products with the ability to tax effectively pay insurance premiums from a member’s super or SMSF account.
• A simple, competitive and transparent pricing structure across superannuation, investments and self managed super products.
• A flexible range of adviser service fee options including flat dollar or percentage based fees with multiple variations on how these fees can be applied.
• Award-winning technology that provides advisers with easy-to-use online solutions and real-time information, making it easier for advisers to manage clients’ investments and run their business more efficiently.
• Sophisticated portfolio management and tax optimisation tools, real-time workflow tracking and comprehensive client and business reporting functionality.

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Boutique super fund AvSuper has unveiled a sophisticated online calculator that sets new standards in member service and engagement via an intuitive and richly functional online tool.

In the first three days of release, more than 10% of the Fund’s members had immediately logged on and used the AvSuper Calculator, demonstrating an engagement with members that will drive financial literacy and further innovative services.

AvSuper CEO Ms Michelle Griffiths said “We are extremely pleased to launch the AvSuper Calculator to our members. Being first with this dynamic and innovative approach not only introduces a new and exciting frontier to our fund, it benefits AvSuper members through assisting better informed decision making about their finances.

“We are delighted with how effectively decimal worked with us to provide an AvSuper solution customised specifically to our members’ needs incorporating our Fund rules on areas such as insurance. It’s an exciting phase two of our Member Advice Solution with continuous development for additional features already in the planning stage. Because we remain focused on the needs of our unique members, we can offer highly tailored solutions for our members and the unique needs of the aviation industry which cannot be matched elsewhere.

“Member feedback during a trial and since the launch has been wonderful, with constructive suggestions for future developments as well. We are genuinely excited about the future prospects that this technology represents for our fund and our members.”

decimal CEO, Mr. Jan Kolbusz, applauded AvSuper for its forward thinking on behalf of members.

“What we see here is a truly member centric online calculator, that is fully integrated – including from a compliance, workflow and SOA viewpoint.

“In fact, AvSuper has deployed a highly functional, integrated system that removes data duplication, eliminating annoying downtime for members. Various consoles are available for Fund staff to allow immediate access to SOAs and for monitoring member and SOA activity. This breadth of capability is available because all the consoles run off one set of databases.

“The member is engaged from initial setup of entering minimal details and financial information through to the optional action point of consultation with an AvSuper Member Advice Consultant. The calculator allows the Fund to then continue from the point that the member left off.”

Mr. Kolbusz said the strong partnership between decimal and AvSuper has resulted in the delivery of a new best standard online tool for member service and engagement, combined with a system that makes a quantum technological leap in the age of solving personal advice issues for all Australians.

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Advisers will also soon be able to validate risk premium estimates for AMP products provided by XPLAN’s Risk Researcher by pre-populating easyquote and/or requesting a real-time binding quotation from AMP in Risk Researcher.

AMP Director IFA and Alliance Distribution Dan Powell said AMP continues to enhance its offering to IFAs through investment in technology.

“AMP has worked closely with IFAs to ensure easyquote adds real value to their businesses. Our aim is to make the risk quoting system easy to use and responsive to their particular needs.

“Advisers will also notice the navigation and look and feel of Adviser Online has improved making it a lot easier for advisers to access market-leading resources and support available to them,” Mr Powell said.

Easyquote enables advisers to obtain quotations for AMP risk products using a simple and responsive user interface. Advisers who wish to proceed with an easyquote quotation can automatically pre-populate and lodge the application without the need to re-key large amounts of data.

With technology as the theme, AMP is hosting a series of nationwide risk seminars for IFAs from 15 to 24 February. The seminars will take place in Parramatta, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and will include a breakfast. Lunch will be provided at the Gold Coast event.

The seminars will focus on how technology can be used as a key driver for future business growth and how it can make a difference to a bottom line.

Technology adviser Mike Walsh, Chief Executive Officer of the consumer innovation research agency Tomorrow, will discuss the practical business implications within the technology maze.

Dan Powell will give AMP’s perspective on the current regulatory environment and AMP Head of Wealth Protection Sales Graham Burnard will explain how AMP Wealth Protection’s current technology capability can assist adviser businesses.

Information about the seminars, including how to register, can be found at www.registration2011.com.au

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CMC Markets has launched a new pattern recognition tool to help traders sort data, identify patterns and execute trades with ease. It is thought to be the first time in Australia that pattern recognition software has been integrated into an existing platform rather than using a third party provider.

Pattern recognition is free to all clients using CMC Market’s desktop and web based CFD platforms. Since being launched to CMC Markets’ existing clients in Australia, almost 40% of active clients have taken up the tool.

Pattern recognition is one of the most versatile skills that a trader can have and focuses on finding price patterns and using them to look for breakouts and momentum shifts across markets and timeframes. It has multiple applications and can assist clients to work out where to enter, set stop loss orders and set profit targets. It can be as advanced as complex algorithms or involve nothing more than a pencil and a ruler.
CMC Market’s new software identifies both completed and emerging patterns over short or medium time frames and ranks the quality of the chart signals based on technical indicators such as moving averages.

“One of the biggest benefits of the software is it allows traders to scan a wide variety of markets swiftly and rank them,” David Land, CMC Markets Chief Market Analyst said.

“By integrating it onto our platform, traders who already trade confidently but are currently using third party applications can now scope out simple or complex patterns then execute positions with ease,” said Mr Land.

The integrated software can also educate traders who don’t currently use technical analysis as part of their technique, with free video tutorials and an internally-written software guide.

“CMC Markets has a strong focus on education and it is important to ensure clients are equipped to use the tools effectively. The key is for traders to build their experience gradually and spend time learning the basic rules around pattern recognition,” Land said.

Once patterns have been identified, it is then up to the trader to decide whether to execute the trade. They can take long or short positions based on chart signals. In periods of volatility where markets appear to be moving sideways, identifying emerging patterns can assist in generating returns.

The software allows traders to customise the type and number of patterns that are displayed to identify trades and understand the risks associated with a position.

“We are providing our clients with a powerful, customisable piece of software and have made it as easy to use as possible. Pattern recognition is based on carefully tested methods and is another way to equip traders with the tools that are crucial for their success,” Mr Land concluded.

How pattern recognition works

CMC Markets’ integrated pattern recognition tool can follow price patterns for traders, and allows them to trade when they feel the moment is right. Triangles? Wedges? Channels? Head and shoulders? Diamonds? Each pattern has a story to tell about the direction of the market. Traders can pinpoint and overlay any pattern on any chart, and then watch it develop in real time.

Some patterns are on their way to becoming opportunities and some are already there. The tool can be used to tag emerging patterns and get an alert when the pattern is complete. If traders would like to know how previous patterns have panned out, the tool also the ability to review.

Every pattern gets a one- to five-star rating based on a range of indicators including MACD, the RSI, stochastic oscillator, 21- and 55-day period moving average, the DMI plus and DMI minus. The more stars, the stronger the signal.

In the following chart you can see the blue lines are pointing to one of the most common patterns, the symmetrical triangle. Triangles are one of the most common patterns that allow a trader to see opportunities on both the long and short side, and capture the point at which the price consolidates, allowing a trader to see where an eventual “breakout” will occur.

Seeing this chart from a normal point of view it is just a trading chart. But from a pattern recognition point of view, the blue lines form a symmetrical triangle, pointing to where a trader can pick a break out in the price.

With the new integrated platform, once they have identified a pattern, a trader has all the normal features that allow them to open an order ticket and place a trade in the normal way.

Another feature of this platform is the ability to open charts and then add patterns in real time as well as look at how these same types of patterns have performed in the past. This can be done across many different time frames to give an idea of the success of a certain type of pattern.

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