Greater demand to outsource SOA production: AXA

AXA is seeing a greater demand from advisers to outsource the production of Statements of Advice (SOAs) along with their other core business activities, according to AXA Financial Planning national manager Paul Williams.

Financial planners can outsource their SOA production to the dealer group, which can produce a compliant SOA faster and at a lower cost than what planners can do for themselves, he said.

It can produce reasonable savings, depending on the size of the business, he said.

Other financial planners outside AXA have shown interest in the service, but in the context of joining the dealer group, Williams said.

There is no doubt they’re seeing more enquiries and more requests for support in reducing their costs, he added.

Tom Graham, principal of Capita Financial Services and a representative of Charter Financial Planning, said outsourcing any SOA production to an outside company would be cheaper on a volume basis, but if you were working for a dealer group, you would have to thoroughly check the SOA to make sure the format, style and presentation complied with all their dealer group requirements.

The biggest issue in outsourcing SOA production was ensuring client information remained confidential, Graham said.