Helping adviser firms face compliance challenges head on

The right financial planning software supports adviser firms in their entire financial planning process – from risk profiling to fund research. It allows them to save time and focus on what they do best, advising their clients.

Defaqto is constantly investing in its Engage Core proposition, its new suite of suitability reports are there to help firms meet their regulatory obligations, whilst remaining in one workflow.

Suitability reports

Defaqto has worked in collaboration with Eversheds Sutherland to enable and facilitate suitability reports in Engage Core in order to provide a fully integrated end-to-end financial planning tool for paraplanners and advisers. The collaboration was established in order to reduce regulatory and compliance risk by standardisation of the suitability report process.

These suitability reports complement the current reporting capabilities of Engage Core, meaning paraplanners and advisers do not need to switch tools throughout the process. They can save time by using the suitability report within Engage Core, as some content is pulled from their research sessions in Engage. Thus, they can satisfy compliance requirements while staying in one workflow.

They are expected by the regulator to relay the story that took place. Using pre-set lists of text is frowned upon by the regulator. That is why Defaqto provides some standard text to help frame the advice but aims moreover to provide detailed hints and tips designed to help craft a bespoke suitability letter for the client in line with the FCA’s requirements.

Defaqto suitability reports are flexible and can be amended on a firm level to be able to accommodate wording and standard content that may have previously been developed by the firm internally or from using a third-party consultancy.

The Defaqto suite of suitability reports cover:

• Pension switching and contributions
• Pension drawdown
• Lifetime annuities
• Investment switching & contributions
• IHT planning using investment bonds
• Individual life and critical illness
• Income protection
• Business protection

Beyond suitability reporting

Engage Core also enables advisers and paraplanners to record a rationale at every step throughout the advice process. Documenting why each recommendation has been made, it automatically creates a full, detailed and editable report, which can be saved and shared with clients.

A chronological timeline shows all the history with a client, providing an overview at a glance. This kind of evidencing documentation, along with the risk-rated fund documentation in the Engage Core toolkit, is invaluable when it comes to satisfying regulatory requirements in this age of increasing scrutiny.

Engage Core now also includes KIIDs, fund prospectuses and fund factsheets that can be added to the overall report for the clients or kept on file for audit purposes. Engage Core also includes MiFID II data where available.

Engage Core

With so many financial planning tools in use, the financial planning process is fragmented. There are also significant risks associated with using multiple financial planning tools.

By choosing Engage Core, adviser firms are able to integrate their financial planning tools, from risk profiling to fund research, into one end-to-end solution, ensuring that they are able to deliver consistent advice to clients at all stages of life.

With over 8,500 advisers already using Engage, get in touch today to find out more or to arrange a demo.

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