LAS provide a range of services to ease and enable the migration of legacy assets recorded in adviser back office systems and electronic sources to superior alternatives such as platforms, Wraps and destination funds. These services provide a wide range of advantages to advisors and their clients and are particularly beneficial for IFA businesses seeking to move to a “wealth management” business model. In the process, advisers will frequently be able to increase their recurring income. The resulting 'payback' period for adviser firms will typically be no more than 12 months and can be as short as 3 months.

1. Identifying the individual clients suitable for transfer to the new proposition:

   Standard Life estimates that there is £1.9 trillion of legacy assets held in products suitable for migration onto a wrap platform in the UK. The majority of these assets are held in products that are no longer suitable for either the client or the firm. Often these are expensive and poorly performing investments. But who are the individual clients? Liberating them and transferring assets onto a wrap platform benefits both the client and the firm. Being able to identify these opportunities from within a client bank is the first step in the journey. From data in the back office and CRM systems of advisory firms we will compile a segmented list of clients with legacy products and funds potentially suitable for transfer to a superior proposition, in keeping with the impetus and requirements of Treating Customers Fairly and the Retail Distribution Review.

2. Transforming your business, boosting profits and value:

   The financial services industry has changed almost beyond recognition over the last few years. The global financial melt-down, the development of more sophisticated products and increasingly stringent regulation has put even greater pressure on advisers to ensure that they recommend the most flexible solutions for their clients. In light of recent economic events, it’s more important than ever that, advisers review their investment approach and ensure that their clients have portfolios that still meet their objectives. When carrying out this review, it’s more than likely some changes will be required and investments will need to be moved. The FSA are keen to encourage proactive service by advisers with regular reviews to ensure that the clients’ portfolios meet their objectives. However, they also want to ensure that assets are not being moved unnecessarily just to remunerate the adviser, hence it’s important that there is an audit trail which demonstrates evidence that the transition will be for the client’s benefit. And of course, the costs and consequences need to be clearly and carefully explained to that client. Our analysis tools and processes generate an in depth summary of the clients affairs and the salient results are compiled into a presentation pack for the adviser to go through with their client. A full Investment and Asset Migration Report is produced to assist in covering the regulatory needs of any transactions that go ahead. There is the option of a bespoke Para planning service for more complex cases saving time and underpinning the compliant process.

3. Delivering a robust, TCF and compliant process for completing the upgrade, transfer or consolidation:

   The valuation basis of financial adviser firms in the UK has undergone significant change over the past few years. There is now clear demarcation between the valuation multiples applied to old style transactional advisers and those businesses with a more sustainable income stream being service driven derived from hosting their clients’ assets on a wrap, platform or other appropriate fund destination solutions. By providing a complete change management process with support tools and services that turn all of the daily obstacles into stepping stones, we can assist the journey towards the new business model for financial advisory firms. Our unique end to end solution enables the move away from transaction based sales to a complete wealth management service with totally transparent remuneration derived from client fees and fund based income.