Platforms not meeting most service expectations of advisers, study shows

Financial product data analysts Defaqto asked 452 financial advisers to rank 39 aspects of service delivered by platforms. It found that in eight of the top 10 aspects of service that advisers ranked of greatest importance, platforms were not meeting those advisers' expectations. 

"Our findings show that service is only meeting platform users' expectations in two of the top

10 most important areas: integrity (4th) and asset type range (10th)," Defaqto said in its review of platform service 2013. "This is, however, up on last year's results, in which only one of the top 10 most important areas met user expectations." 

Advisers rated staff competence as being the most important aspect of service offered by platforms, with systems reliability and the ease with which they can do business the second and third most important factors, according to the report. 

"Platform providers that hope to fully replace their support staff with technology and online help do so at their peril," Defaqto said. The analysts said that advisers "will expect all staff they deal with at the platform operator to be helpful, knowledgeable and available" as this will have a knock-on impact on how they are perceived in the eyes of their investor clients. 

"Experiences falling short of this will impact on their own efficiency and may make them think twice about their current preferred providers," Defaqto said. "Despite the ever-increasing use of technology in adviser businesses this is still a service industry. Advisers succeed or fail on the basis of their relationships with their clients." 

Defaqto said that systems reliability is "fundamental to a platform" and that problems with those systems would impact on how efficiently advisers could undertake their own work. It said the rise of systems reliability from fifth to second most important platform service aspect since last year's review may be indicative of advisers experiencing "reliability issues" in the past 12 months. 

"Advisers do understand the level of change that platforms are going through, but they are also undergoing change themselves and patience to resolve issues will be stretched quite quickly," Defaqto said. "Advisers need confidence that the platform operator they are working with has as few reliability issues as possible as this will build confidence that the operator is able to supply a sustainable platform proposition for the future." 

Other platform service aspects that advisers ranked as being in their top 10 most important include the speed with which platforms process new investment applications for clients and the effectiveness of platforms' problem solving. The quality of communication from platforms to advisers in explaining administrative issues and the speed with which platforms could switch advisers' client assets as instructed were also service aspects that made the top 10.