Financial advice professionals are only too familiar with the importance of finding appropriate solutions to all sorts of challenges that come their way. It’s such a massive part of what you do day in day out – whether it’s for your clients or for the business.
And one of the leading challenges is to identify which investment solutions will best meet your clients’ needs. It can be a real ‘needle in a haystack’ situation. One of our roles here at IFA Magazine is to bring you insight into some of the leading investment management teams, into what they’re doing behind the scenes, how they go about it and why, so you can get a real feel for what they are offering.
Taking centre stage in this month’s edition starting on page 6, is our cover story interview with a trio of leading lights behind the popular Schroders Investment Solutions range. We’re grateful to portfolio managers Ryan Paterson and Rob Starkey and also to Olivia Geldenhuys, investment director for talking us through lots of detail of their multi-asset range this month.
Beyond the multi-asset universe, we’re also taking a look at how and why modern day property investment is such a different prospect, with experts from both Gravis on page 20 and Time Investments on page 16, as well as looking behind the SDR labels with Charles Stanley’s Paris Jordan on page 12.
Business solutions
Focusing on the advice business itself, the following pages will also dive into many of the challenges involved. On page 34, Dynamic Planner’s Yasmina Siadatan, looks at future proofing your use of technology. On page 42, in the second of our three part series looking at mastering suitability reports, our own Jenny Hunter has been talking to fellow Paraplanner Caroline Stuart, as well as CATS’ Melony Holman and The Timebank’s Damian Davies to get their expert views on the practical elements of compiling suitability reports that are not only compliant but also client-friendly too.
Consumer Duty has brought a whole new approach to vulnerabilities. How to talk to clients about financial vulnerabilities is even more important than ever. On page 38, Comentis’ Beth Yolland-Jones, a clinical expert herself, gives some really practical tips on how advisers can discuss such matters with clients in a non-intrusive, non-judgemental way.
Last but not least, our old friend AI ( somehow it seems like an old friend now as we’ve been talking about it for so long!) is back in action, this time with some practical solutions for Financial Services from Arran Kingston, 4admin. On page 32, Arran talks us through a pioneering and highly practical tool that’s already increasing efficiency in financial adviser firms by integrating AI into your daily processes and procedures, speeding them up considerably. If you’d like to hear more from Arran, we’ve been talking to him on our IFA Talk podcast recently too – it’s well worth a listen.
Dare I mention the ‘B’ word?
Don’t worry, we’ve moved on from Brexit but with Chancellor Rachel Reeves set to deliver her first Autumn Budget statement on 30th October, this is likely to bring a whole host of tax and policy changes that are likely to affect clients’ financial plans. Whether it’s pensions, IHT, CGT etc. all eyes will be on Westminster that day – including ours. We’ll be reporting in full on all the key developments relevant to advisers so do check in with us then.
Sue Whitbread
Editor, IFA Magazine
