Financial planning software provider Midwinter has rewritten its planner offering and shifted it online, with users set to use a cloud-based application in place of desktop software.
Midwinter head of distribution Peter Burns said the shift meant planners would no longer be using a software program but a web application called Advice OS, accessible anywhere to planners and their clients.
Burns said Midwinter clients who rely on its desktop software Reasonable Basis, such as those in remote areas or with limited internet access, would still be offered the software which would be developed alongside the online offering.
Planners who use the software will shift from a licensing fee model to a subscription model, with Midwinter managing director Julian Plummer stating the shift would eliminate lag in the system as files and data were processed via large-scale online servers.
Midwinter executive director of financial planning Andrew McClelland said some clients had expressed concerns about storing data online, but were mostly concerned about the security of client information and not about the reliability of the system.
The new application follows a two-year review and rewrite process, according to Burns, in which Midwinter was forced to decide on whether to keep a system that had components added as it grew, or to rewrite the system completely.
“We have gone from Reasonable Basis with later additions to Advice OS, completely rewritten from the ground up and capable of working across the planner and dealer group space,” Burns said.
Plummer said the rewrite meant Advice OS was a “full-featured, out-of-the-box, FOFA-ready software solution”.
The launch of Advice OS would take place in three stages, with stage 1 already active and offering a base client management module for all users within the financial planning process. Additional modules – to assist planners meet FOFA obligations, place and compare super, investment and insurance products, client engagement tools and an online client portal – are also active at present.
Stage two and three – slated for June and September this year – would see the addition of a scaled advice strategy package and portfolio review tools and client calculators, with the latter able to provide direct feedback to the planner for further discussions with clients.
Plummer said the push by industry super funds to further engage with their members was the driver behind the client engagement tools Midwinter had developed, which would allow planners to compete with industry funds at this level.
