Platforms are pivoting to take on the role formerly held by licensees in providing advisers with education.
Speaking to Money Management, Recep Peker, managing director of platform research service SuitabilityHub, said platforms have found a gap in the market to use the data they hold on users and the move by advisers away from large licensees.
This includes providing educational content to advisers and users, which may previously have been provided by their licensee or association. The education materials include webcasts, presentations, videos, masterclasses and national events.
He said: “Platforms play a central role in advice practices for reporting and implementation, but some of the platforms are tended towards better support and processes, while others are investing heavily in adviser education.
“It is an area of focus for them to support advisers and the advice community, driven by fragmentation in the advice market, they are stepping into the role of large licensees.
“Platforms play a role not just in the digital space, but in the education space. There is a big concerted effort for them to educate advisers with technical content and best practice.
“They can look at the data they have on the usage of the platform by advisers, and suggest where they can improve and how they compare to peers.”
He gave the example of CFS which just launched a CFS 10x offering to help advisers meet their business goals and objectives, and BT Panorama which regularly holds technical education sessions with its head of financial literacy and advocacy, Bryan Ashenden, as part of its BT Academy.
A second trend is the modernisation of digital services, such as work trackers, to allow advisers to do more things themselves online with minimal paperwork or human intervention, with Peker singling out BT Panorama again and AMP North.
“We are seeing platforms modernising to become more like everyday apps, such as Uber or Amazon, when facilitating requests from the adviser office.
“The time clients are spending on hold has been drastically cut down which benefits the advisers and reduces call centre volumes, which benefits the platform, so they have more time to focus on value-add services.
“Digital transformation leads to better client outcomes, and the platforms are backing this with strong cyber security and authentication.”
BT Panorama has incorporated its workflow tracker into its adviser mobile app and provides estimated completion dates based on a seven-day rolling average, while AMP North has a progress tracker and online chat functionality. HUB24, Macquarie Wrap and Netwealth have also received praise for their digitisation improvements.
