Advisers ‘overhauling’ client engagement systems in response to pandemic

Oxford Risk said the move was sparked in part because the industry struggled to update investment advice during the pandemic due to “rapid and simultaneous” changes to clients’ financial circumstances.

Adding to this, the increased digital interaction between advisers and clients throughout the pandemic forced a revamp of engagement systems.

“Crises always focus attention on the importance of emotion and behavioural aspects in decision making,” Oxford Risk’s head of behavioural finance, Greg B Davies said.

“This pandemic has demonstrated the need for wealth managers to be able to deliver hyper personalised client engagement digitally and at scale to help investors through emotionally stressful times.”

It comes after the chief commercial officer of advice software provider Midwinter, Steve Davison, called on financial advisers to look at “new mechanisms” to engage with clients due to the technology shift brought on by the pandemic.

Appearing on the ifa Show last month, Mr Davison said a key focus that he has seen in engaging with new and existing clients over the last 12-18 months is to “engage clients on the terms that they want to be engaged on”.

“So for example, the traditional advice process is sitting down for 45 to 90 minutes to complete a fact find…  then wait one to perhaps four weeks for a statement of advice to be produced and presented back to you. And then that doesn’t even take into account when the implementation of that advice is going to take place,” Mr Davison said.

Listen to the full ifa Show episode with Mr Davison here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.