If you can’t beat them, DIY
Melbourne-basedfinancial planner Neville Krynauw cannot understand why the cost of platforms for advisers keeps rising when the technology costs keep falling.
“With modern technology costs, instead of the platform costs coming down, the prices keep going up,” he says.
Krynauw decided in 1993 to develop his own front and back-office system, but at an affordable price.
“Our platform costs one-seventh of the best price out there today,” he says. The Financial PathFinder program he has developed costs $3,500 a year per user, although it can be bought in individual modules.
Designing the system has not been without trials and tribulations, and what is being offered today is the second version of PathFinder.
Initially the development was outsourced, but after delays, Krynauw brought the development in-house.
“We have developed modular financial planning software that is structured around the way a planner works,” he says.
“It will enable the financial planner to formulate various strategies with ease, as well as using the system as an effective sales tool.”
There are six modules in the system covering client management, developing plans, pension and risk analysis, monitoring client’s investments and utilities calculators.
“These modules enable the planner to develop many scenarios for clients, each with different strategies, and the capacity to save every model,” Krynauw says.
“Each module has multi-search facilities and you can find clients by groups, such as all family members or by investors using a particular product.”
The list created from the searches can then be used in mail-merge for contacting groups of clients.
Another feature, which is being claimed as a competitive edge of the PathFinder system, is its ability to look at scenarios for both partners in a financial plan.
“We can look at the husband’s plan and then switch to see what the outcome is for the partner if he dies or they divorce,” Krynauw says.
“This feature can be used across all the modules and enables the planner to review ‘what if’ scenarios, which then can be saved.”
The system has 5,500 products, with Morningstar supplying the research. Changes to areas such as superannuation or pension rules can be downloaded from the PathFinder Web site.
“Planners can also add other products or assets and a dealer group can restrict the products that are used for modelling,” he says.
“The system can be re-badged as well, and there are more than 100 templates for client reporting in the system,” he adds.
Krynauw says the system can handle up to 100 planners at any one time, but it is more aimed for the small to medium-sized practices.
“We will be holding briefing seminars for planners on this system starting this month,” he says.
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