A Melbourne financial planner has launched a online interactive digital fact find that is compliant with new standards and will remove the need to create, share and store physical documents.
Moran Partners Financial Planning principal and iFactFind co-founder Dr Paul Moran said the fact find was developed with database expert and co-founder Sahil Matta to be a living document that meets the obligations for advisers contained in standards 5 and 8 of the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority Code of Ethics, which relate to the complete and accurate retention of client documents.
“The onus on advisers to know your client aims to ensure that people receive advice that is appropriate for their situation and needs. As such, quality advice hinges on access to rich, accurate client data,” Moran said.
“As anyone who has been in a long-term relationship knows, things can easily go wrong when you start making assumptions and taking things for granted. The advice relationship is no different. For most people, life is busy and complex with lots of curveballs. This means advice processes need to be dynamic.”
He noted many advisers still use manual, paper-based fact finds or editable PDF solutions, which create static information, but iFactFind can be accessed online by clients, advisers and support staff and will create an auditable record of every entry, including the date and time changes were made and the person who made them.
The fact-find process, which includes goal setting and a risk tolerance questionnaire, can be completed in around 40 minutes and existing clients can update information while new and prospective clients will receive a financial services guide at the end of the process, he said.
Matta said the fact find was developed and piloted by a select group of advice practices during the extended COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria in the middle of last year and allowed those advisers to continue operating their businesses.
“iFactFind can be used in face-to-face meetings or via Zoom or clients can complete it by themselves. It is a collaborative tool that fosters open communication, transparency and trust,” Matta said.
The fact find will be available for use by practices and advisers within those practices on a subscription basis. Only advisers registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission will be required to pay a subscription, while all other practice staff will not be required to pay for access.
According to iFactFind’s website, subscriptions will cost $99 a month for a ‘core’ package and $149 a month for the ‘integrate’ package, which will connect with Xplan and later this year with the Midwinter, Worksorted and Financial Mappers financial advice platforms.
