Opt-in won't be expensive: Gold Seal
The administration cost of opt-in is likely to be negligible, according to Gold Seal director Claire Wivell Plater.
The process of contacting a client once every two years and asking them to opt-in to their financial adviser's services should simply be part of the standard service review, she said.
"If you've got an ongoing fee from a client, surely you're going to contact them at least once a year to give them some advice or an update on their position," said Wivell Plater.
"Is it so difficult at that point to get them to confirm they'd like to engage you for a further year?" she asked.
XPLAN already has measures in place that will make the opt-in process relatively painless, according to IRESS senior business development executive Michael Kinens.
"The system's workflow capability can automatically generate the opt-in letter when due and, via a mail-house we have integrated with, have that letter printed, enveloped and mailed to the client," said Kinens.
The letter can include a barcode that can be scanned when it is received by the practice, thereby entering it into the XPLAN system and resetting the two-year 'clock' for the client, said Kinens.
"Alternatively, you can have the system automatically send them an email saying 'please click here to opt-in for the next two years'," he added.
The biggest issue for advisers will be the disengaged C and D clients who look at the letter and say "who the hell is this guy?" said Kinens.
"If it's the first time the client recognises that there is an ongoing cost to the relationship and they're thinking to themselves 'what am I actually getting as a benefit for having that relationship?', that's where you're going to run into problems," Kinens said.
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