2018 saw some regulatory changes for Financial Advisers and their firms. Changes that are certainly leading to more positive experiences for their clients and indeed some of the processes that have been recommended by the regulatory body were already in place with many firms, because they make good business sense.

However, the changes do mean one thing for a lot of Advisers and firms: increased workload on the operations side of the business, particularly when it comes to administration and paperwork.

I won’t bore you with the specifics of the new regulations. If you’re an Adviser you’ll have heard enough about them this year and if you’re not an Adviser then it won’t mean much to you. In short though, the changes have instigated a need to have robust systems and processes in place, to ensure that each client of the Adviser is getting correct reports, meetings and data, at the correct time.

Larger IFA Firms and Networks are instigating their own processes to deal with these changes, and asking their Adviser firms to follow them. But for one man bands and those working from home, even with the process being laid out for them, implementing it will take extra time and organisation on their part.

One of our IFA clients was in this exact situation at the beginning of the year. With a core client bank of 50 or so clients that they enjoyed spending time with many of whom have worked with him so long, they are considered friends. His expertise and experience over the years leads him to give, in my opinion, excellent advice and guidance to his clients. But paperwork? Entering data on client management systems, uploading documents and keeping schedules of what has to be complete and when? Not his forte, or even something that he wants to be spending his time doing.

Bear in mind that the average financial Adviser would charge his time out at anywhere from £150 – £300 per hour. Spending 2 hours uploading documents to a client file and completing reports would be an extortionate cost to a client. Not to mention far from the best use of the Adviser’s time.

By outsourcing this administration to Organised You, they reduce the cost of this time massively, to just £20 per hour, and get to spend their time on the things they should be doing.

Below is summarised example process we implemented for this Adviser, highlighting where work is completed by the Adviser, and where it is completed by Organised You.

As you can see from the above, the Adviser’s time is focused on being with the client, and giving them advice. Organised You’s time is focused on the behind the scenes admin, keeping things organised, up to date, and ensuring the Adviser is meeting any requirements set for him by his firm/network.  If we are doing our job correctly, the Adviser shouldn’t need to worry about anything other than the best advice for the client.

Now every Adviser is different, people all have different ways of working and want different things out of their relationships with their client, but the above process is adaptable, and a good example of how we can support a Financial Adviser and keep his time focused on what he enjoys.

One of my proudest moments at OY was when this particular Adviser told us that now he spends less time doing admin and paperwork, he’s enjoying the job more again, and has pushed back his retirement date a few years!  Working into your retirement isn’t a prerequisite of working with us, but if we can help reduce your workload and give your clients excellent customer service, then we’ll be very happy.

K x