In Technology We Trust

By Rob Waugh

Perhaps understandably, the public aren’t particularly inclined to trust politicians — with just 19% of us trusting government ministers to tell the truth, according to a 2017 IPSOS Mori survey.

But what about financial advisers?

Sadly, while financial advisers may not plumb the depths of our political masters, six out of ten people still say they don’t trust regulated financial advisers, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives survey.

The survey, based on 13,000 people, found that just 39% of people believed that financial advisers always acted in the best interests of their clients.

For financial advisers, the big question is how to change that (or just ensure that they are one of the advisers people DO trust).

Thankfully, new technologies are helping financial advisers to build trust with clients, by involving them in their data directly.

A key part is to ensure clients feel they’re being educated, many advisers say — and here, technology can play a part.

Financial advisers speaking to CNBC said that it’s key to empower clients, giving them enough information that they can say, ‘My adviser makes sure I understand completely.’

A Deloitte report on Disruptive Trends in Wealth Management in 2017, said that today’s investors think differently — and expect to be more involved with decisions, and with their own information.

Describing a new generation of investors, the report says, ‘They want to stay in control of their financial lives and understand the advice they receive and make the important decisions themselves.’

‘These investors are more sceptical of authority than previous generations of investors.’

It’s here that technology can be an invaluable tool, helping to ensure that clients are being educated, and that they trust the information you’re giving them.

Software such as cashflow planning tools can provide clients with that ‘lightbulb’ moment where they take an overview of their own finances going into the future, and perhaps fully understand their own financial situation for the first time.

“New technologies are helping financial advisers to build trust with clients, by involving them in their data directly.”

Software such as Focus Solution’s Now:Plan Cash Flow 2.0 allows clients to become involved in the planning process.

It means, for instance, that clients can interact with the model, introducing real-life changes such as market crashes, using simple drag-and-drop functionality.

Involving clients in this way is a very powerful way to engage them, says Tom Hutt of Hutt Professional Financial Planning.

Hutt says that cashflow planning is a powerful tool which advisers can simplify complex financial plans for clients. Software can bring something to life where previously clients would not have been able to ‘get involved’ with the numbers.

By doing this, clients can get a sense that nothing is being hidden, that they’re in control — and that their adviser is someone who’s not hiding anything from them.

Hutt says, ‘Increasing client engagement in the planning process is invaluable so the ability to easily change and adapt the model with drag and drop functions is very powerful when used interactively during client meetings, bringing to life the effect that decisions will have on their future financial position.’