Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 19 November 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Advise Wise streamlines support for vulnerable clients
Advise Wise, a leading later-life sourcing platform, has partnered with Comentis to streamline support for vulnerable clients.
Through an API integration, Advise Wise members can now access Comentis’ vulnerability assessment tool directly via the platform.
The tool, aligned with the FCA’s four drivers of vulnerability and Consumer Duty regulations, helps advisers objectively identify and document client vulnerabilities.
Why wealthy clients aren’t prepared for the cost of later-life care
High-net-worth (HNW) clients are not obvious candidates for state-funded social care, writes Amanda Newman Smith
But research from Charles Stanley has found that a third of people with at least £200,000 of investible assets or household income are planning to spend their wealth so that they qualify for state support in later life.
The reason? They do not want the cost of care to come out of their own pocket, nor to be a burden on their family.
Quote Of The Day
Global rates have been going up – in the US, the UK and elsewhere as well. It’s the Trump effect as much as anything. The Budget reaction is smaller than that – but it pushes it in a similar direction
– James Smith, a research director at the Resolution Foundation, on the factors lifting mortgage rates in the UK
Stat Attack
A recent survey of 2,000 people by Opinium for Hargreaves Lansdown asked people who they would most like to ask for help on a range of financial issues. It showed that financial advisers topped the list for investment and pensions.
27%
were most likely to want help from an adviser on pensions and retirement.
24%
identified investment rules, followed by specific investment ideas (23%).
19%
wanted financial advice on savings.
14%
wanted advice on debts or money worries more generally (12%).
Source: Opinium
In Other News
Trafalgar House, a specialist third-party pensions administrator, has unveiled a new online transfer portal as part of a pilot programme to streamline pension transfers.
The initiative, launched in October 2024, aims to simplify the process, reduce delays and enhance communication between members and advisers.
The pilot will run until January 2025, with feedback gathered to refine the platform ahead of a wider roll-out later in the year.
Managing director Daniel Taylor highlighted the inefficiencies of current manual, paper-based transfer methods, which have been exacerbated by tighter regulatory requirements.
“The existing system is outdated and frustrating for members who expect faster, digital solutions,” he said. “By reducing reliance on paper, we can significantly improve the speed and quality of service.”
The new portal enables members to complete transfers entirely online, incorporating identity verification (ID&V) technology to enhance security and reduce fraud risk.
It also addresses common pain points, such as delays caused by late-stage referrals to MoneyHelper, by integrating guidance earlier in the process.
Taylor emphasised the importance of embracing technology: “To meet members’ expectations, the industry must adopt seamless, efficient digital solutions.”
Budget tax rises could push more firms into trouble, says insolvency specialist (The Guardian)
Starmer charts cautious course through world changed by Trump (Bloomberg)
UK creates new businesses at slowest rate since 2010 (Reuters)
Did You See?
Aegon UK has apologised to customers who have experienced IT issues following a system update in August.
Advisers have raised concerns about “major IT issues” and “endless problems” they have experienced since the update was implemented.
Specifically, one adviser told Money Marketing that many group pension schemes have not had contributions collected, or contributions have been collected but not allocated.
“When contributions have been allocated, months later, they have not been back-dated to the correct investment date,” they added.
“Call times on the phone are ridiculous, there are no timescales for when the issues will be resolved, no responses to countless emails.
“You cannot get to speak to anyone who can sort the issues, just added notes to already raised cases, and I am told that this has affected hundreds of group pension schemes.
“Not to mention you can no longer get unit and bid price information on the online system; this has to be rung up for to get accurate valuations for clients. Regular valuation feeds are no longer going through to back-office systems.”
