MBA Systems, a leading supplier of electronic trading and information systems to the securities industry - is changing the economics of servicing the mass affluent with the addition of a new on-line risk evaluation and investment module to its Internet Broker (IB2) system.
The Guided Access Module (GAM) enables firms to provide a sophisticated investment management service to clients, via a self-service electronic channel, which minimises the need for face-to-face consultations and reduces costs.
Stephen Taylor, director at MBA Systems commented: "The Retail Distribution Review has led to many clients being disenfranchised by their established advisors as firms withdrew from the market because of a reticence to move to a fee-based remuneration model. Coupled with this, the Budget relaxation of pension and annuity rules will dramatically increase demand for products and wealth management services from those with modest pension pots.
"This creates a new market for investment managers and brokers who will need to adopt a more cost-effective way to service this burgeoning group of clients. The future lies in self-service electronic services and GAM is, we believe, the first software product to address this need."
GAM gives brokers and investment managers a tool to provide an on-line service for end-user clients to assess their investment objectives, attitudes to risk and requirements for income and/or capital growth. The system facilitates client on-boarding, payments, portfolio modelling according to client risk profiles, illustration of the proposed portfolio structure and on-going transaction processing, reviews and reporting. GAM automates the risk evaluation process using a firm's individual business rules.
Many brokers and wealth managers have been seeking ways of switching to electronic systems for guiding clients. MBA Systems believes that the changes to the annuity market and the anticipated growth in demand is the stimulus that will cost-justify the introduction of services like GAM. "GAM enables brokers and wealth managers to recapture those orphaned clients and service the newly pension pot affluent cost-effectively while gaining a competitive advantage."