Speaking at its 11th Annual Conference in the year which sees Dynamic Planner, the UK’s leading risk based financial planning system, mark its 20th anniversary, CEO Ben Goss said:
“We founded Dynamic Planner almost 20 years ago today, and I am as excited now as I have ever been about the prospects for this industry and the customers we all ultimately serve. The pandemic and ensuing uncertainty in the world around us are driving growing demand and need for financial advice. These factors have also driven technology adoption at an unprecedented rate. The industry is in the foothills of something really quite special when you combine great advice with the right technology and aligned asset management.
“We believe that as the industry embraces personal financial planning at scale, the era of product sales is over. But 10 years on from the banning of commission, why has it taken so long? Historically the industry was wired back to front, from the product systems and their needs to the customer, not from the customer and their needs to the product. And while RDR was undoubtedly the catalyst for change, financial planning technology with the client at the centre, allied with their adviser is now enabling real change.
“Like RDR before it, the advent of Consumer Duty comes with many questions of its own, not least how do firms demonstrably ensure clients get the outcomes and value they are looking for, while at the same time growing value in their own business?
“Productively servicing clients in a way that delivers the outcomes they are looking for, in an era of increasing price transparency and on the eve of regulation which scrutinises not just outcomes but value received, crystalises the challenge now. I am confident that as an industry we can get to grips with the productivity challenge, in part because of how we all responded to RDR, but more than that, the industry now is arguably in the best shape it has ever been with clients getting consistent ongoing services and firms benefiting from a profitable ongoing fee model.
“The industry has come far. It is technology that has underpinned this transformation and it is technology that is integral in enabling the productivity we are seeing now. Dynamic Planner is firmly at the heart of this transformation, with our purpose the same as it was in 2003 but today stronger than ever – to help firms match people with suitable portfolios though engaging financial planning. ‘The Power of Now’, the title of our 11th Conference encapsulates this. We see there is a moment to be grasped and that’s exciting for all of us.”
Key Innovations and Developments from Dynamic Planner in 2023:
- Multi Million Pound Investment: We have completely rewired Dynamic Planner in the last three years to give you a huge advantage over your competition by embracing PROD and using target markets to drive consistency of financial planning and advice and huge productivity gains.
- Target Markets: Now launched, save firms hours of time with every piece of client advice. They provide the ability to research and link products, shortlists and portfolios from across the relevant universe along with automatically including relevant explanations.
- Dynamic Planner in the palm of your hand: Continually demonstrate your firm’s value digitally – even when you’re not with your client. We’re already working with a small number of early adopter firms to design and perfect a premium version of Dynamic Planner’s client access before making it generally available later this year to support firms through Consumer Duty.
- New partnerships: Data flows are critical for firms. Dynamic Planner is committed to continually broadening and deepening our ecosystem of integrated partners. We have just launched valuation integrations with Aegon ARC and Prudential via the Origo hub.
- Open API: In addition to IO and Iress as integration partners through our API we are now live with Curo from Time 4 Advice. Curo is the first CRM partner to use our Open API. It is live today and we are on a journey with the team from Time4Advice over the coming month to extend the breadth of that integration. We are delighted to be working with the team from 360.net to migrate their existing integration to the Open API.
