We’ve proven that Turo can compress the advice process down by around two thirds, while providing accurate, fully compliant advice. Recently one of our client partners timed their average at-retirement process at approx. 35 hours per case – from receiving the initial lead through to business submission.
Fact finds were taking on average 280 minutes and case writing was consuming around 580 minutes, so there was a clear need to reduce the time spent on these key areas of the advice process. Through automation we were able to significantly reduce the time taken to produce detailed analysis, case writing, and fact finds by 318%, 253% and 215% respectively.
Our brand MyEva can also help attract lower value clients as, like I said, through workplace engagement. I think this could be a ground breaker because it means the individual isn’t having to pay for digital advice. In addition, I think that having people receive digital advice in the workplace is a nice way of building understanding for the next generation of how they might be able to consume advice. That’s because there’s an assumption amongst the younger generation that you have to see a professional person in a suit and pay lots of money. So, I guess we’re trying to trailblaze a new model that will allow people to imagine advice as something that doesn’t involve thousands of pounds and lots of spreadsheets – that it can be a bit easier than that. It also opens doors in time, when they have accumulated more wealth and will have a need for full financial advice.
RT: What are the business benefits of targeting the mass affluent/younger client base?
AF: I think that if IFAs don’t start to seriously look at a slightly younger and slightly less wealthy customer base as well as their existing client base, with IFAs’ average age being mid 50s and clients’ average age being mid-50s, they will be left to wonder where the next generation of clients will come from. I think unless IFAs adapt to that a little more quickly than they are now, the risk is the next generation will go to digital-only propositions launched by the global banks and other such organisations. So, the traditional financial advice sector maybe won’t have that flow of next generation clients if they don’t think about adding a digital channel more proactively.
RT: Is there a societal element also in being able to help start to close the advice gap?
AF: Yes, at Wealth Wizards we take the societal impact and social impact of what we’re doing very seriously. As I said, our purpose is to make financial advice affordable and accessible to everybody, which I completely respect is not what every IFA is busy doing. Nonetheless, I think we’ve got to recognise the fact that, according to FCA figures, in 2019 there were only about 4 million people in the UK receiving financial advice. As there are 50 million adults in the UK, that means only 8% of the adult population received advice in 2019. I doubt it’s much different today. That isn’t enough and that isn’t meeting the need when you think how complicated finances have become in terms of managing a portfolio through to your retirement and then having enough money to live in a comfortable retirement for what might be 20, 25, or even 30 years. These are complex challenges that a lot of people in society are grappling with. The advice profession has got to play its part and step up to the plate, I think. There are benefits in that for the advice profession and the millions of consumers out there who want to better manage their wealth.
