Letters 13/05 – A global approach to advice
Your article titled "Paraplanning opens shop in NSW" (Money Management, April 15), contains many ambiguous statements that require further clarification. As one of the "two other companies" mentioned within this article, we feel compelled to respond.
The concept of contract paraplanning has been around for nearly as long as financial advisers have. In fact, I was providing just such a service for advisers of MoneyLink some six years ago.
Any statement of being the "largest and only player operating nationally" needs to be backed up with a certain amount of facts. Whilst IFP Solutions is based in Sydney, we operate nationally and have done so since our operations commenced in 1997.
In addition to providing paraplanning, back-office support, software auditing, development and integration services to financial advisers, fund managers, stockbrokers and futures traders in all states of Australia, we have a significant paraplanning client base in most of the major regional centres on the eastern seaboard.
To suggest that we do not operate nationally also suggests ignorance of the opportunities we are all currently offered by the use of Intranet/ Internet and the fast, efficient and secure transfer and communication facilities that these provide.
The use of this now well accepted form of commerce allows IFP Solutions to operate efficiently and communicate effectively with our clients nationally and also to draw upon the best paraplanning resources available from anywhere in the world via an electronic link.
We will also be releasing a new service in July this year which will provide advisers with a lodgement, portfolio tracking (transaction based) and automated review system. This system is intended to complement our existing services and our underlying philosophy that the adviser's time is important and, that any tasks that can be handled automatically (read technology automated) equate to cost savings for both the adviser and their clients. As the above shows, IFP Solutions do and will continue to provide a very wide, and continually expanding, range of quality, time-saving services for the financial planning professional.
<I>Roger Rosentreter
Director
IFP Solutions Pty Limited
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