The Internet can be a powerful leveller of the playing field, allowing the differences between medium sized and large financial planning firms to evaporate quickly.
The Internet can be a powerful leveller of the playing field, allowing the differences between medium sized and large financial planning firms to evaporate quickly.
So says Tim Moore, a speaker at the AiC Worldwide Money Management Financial Planning Solutions Summit 2000 and chief executive of Perth-based listed stockbro-kers Hartley Poynton.
His firm has developed a complete on-line share trading platform which planners can use under their own brands.
The system’s clients include Bankers Trust, BankWest, Lend Lease’s Your Prosper-ity, the Quicken.broker service, the Asgard master trust and Hillross’s PortfolioCare superannuation service.
But while traditional on-line share trading models provide services limited to settle-ment and clearing, this system offers a complete end to end service.
Launched in May 1999, its features include a Web site as well as links to banking systems and the Australian Stock Exchange.
“The prediction for many years has been for a reduction in the number of people of-fering share trading services because of rationalisation and mergers,” Moore says.
“Ironically, however, it seems likely that the opposite will happen with the number of players rising substantially. My prediction is that the number may well double in the next two years.”
The reason for his forecast is that many financial planners, banks, insurance compa-nies and other entities are also looking to offer share trading services to their clients in a bid to add value and keep them.
Moore says Hartley Poynton’s aim is to provide these new entrants – or their clients – with “a rich functional investment solution which is not limited to the Internet, but includes Internet access”.
“The experience that we have gained and the technology that we have developed for some of the major players are both now scalable in such a way that they have become highly relevant to the financial planning industry,” he says.
He believes that the solution his firm offers is appropriate to any financial planning firm with more than 20 advisers.
It can be customised to fit in with the branding and “face” of any financial planning firm, espousing its logo, colours, and “look and feel” throughout.
“From end-to-end, you feel like you are dealing with that company,” says Moore, noting that the site requires very little to keep it in the form that it is in, and any changes can be made easily.
The system allows the planners to retain ownership of their customers and customer data.
According to Moore, they can maintain their traditional relationships with clients, while at the same time, have a fully functional on-line investment solution at their finger tips to add to that relationship.
