BOSS expands its research
Life insurance research group BOSS has expanded the scope of its re-search service to include factors which give advisers insight into the sustainability of products and their pricing.
Life insurance research group BOSS has expanded the scope of its re-search service to include factors which give advisers insight into the sustainability of products and their pricing.
Under a deal with Plan for Life managing director Simon Solomon, BOSS will hold exclusive rights to research on reserve strengths, expense ratios and profitability of life insurance groups.
BOSS managing director Daryl Curie says the move is the first move by a research group to measure the sustainability of risk products.
He says the research will be aimed at high end financial planners who are used to receiving information on the structure of funds manage-ment companies when making decisions on which funds to recommend to clients.
"We are now in an era where dealer groups are looking at risk prod-ucts as an integral part of a financial plan," Curie says.
One of the drivers of that trend is the upcoming CLERP legislation which is expected to motivate dealer principals to offer both re-search on risk products as well as the traditional funds management research as advisers will tend to look for a dealer group which is licensed for both risk and securities trading.
Curie acknowledges there has been rumblings from some quarters within the life insurance industry that research in the past has focussed solely on pricing and features.
"There is a feeling that if you are truly going to compare apples with apples, there are a number of factors outside pricing and features to comprehend," he says.
Recommended for you
As the industry navigates the fallout from recent product failures, two major AFSLs have detailed their APL selection process and relationship with research houses, warning a selection error could “destroy” a licensee.
The impending retirement of financial advisers in their 50s could see the profession face significant succession challenges over the coming decade and younger advisers may not be the answer.
With a third of AFSLs being solo advisers, how can they navigate key person risk and ensure they are still attractive propositions for buyers when it comes to their succession planning?
A quarter of advisers who commenced on the FAR within the last two years have already switched licensees or practices, adding validity to practice owners’ professional year (PY) concerns.
