Managed accounts save time and money
Advisers who have adopted managed accounts are reaping benefits such as saving more than 14 hours a week and generating additional revenue from advice fees, according to new research.
The BT/Investment Trends Managed Accounts Research Paper revealed the average 14.4 hours of time saved per week in administration and compliance work allowed 4.8 hours per week for business development activities and more time in front of clients.
This meant advisers could service more clients, and provide more holistic advice, which could potentially generate additional revenue of $45,000 per annum from advice fees.
BT national manager of product development, Russell Brinckley said: “Despite historic perceptions that managed accounts are the domain of high net worth (HNW) clients, advisers are increasingly seeing opportunities for managed accounts among their broader client base”.
The use of managed accounts grew for the fifth consecutive year, with 26 per cent now recommending these solutions, up from 22 per cent in 2016. This was the largest year-on-year increase to date.
In 2017, advisers wanted to focus on ongoing client engagement (61 per cent), building efficiency in their practices (53 per cent), and client acquisition/prospecting (45 per cent).
The online survey of 233 financial advisers, which included 85 managed account users and 148 non-users, showed advisers recommended managed accounts for a number of reasons including investment transparency (64 per cent), greater practice efficiency (62 per cent), and access to professional investment managers (46 per cent).
A further 20 per cent of advisers intended to recommend managed accounts in the near future.
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
Recommended for you
The FSCP has announced its latest verdict, suspending an adviser’s registration for failing to comply with his obligations when providing advice to three clients.
Having sold Madison to Infocus earlier this year, Clime has now set up a new financial advice licensee with eight advisers.
With licensees such as Insignia looking to AI for advice efficiencies, they are being urged to write clear AI policies as soon as possible to prevent a “Wild West” of providers being used by their practices.
Iress has revealed the number of clients per adviser that top advice firms serve, as well as how many client meetings they conduct each week.
