All of these providers will attribute a large part of their success to being able to directly control their own technology and upgrade it as and when they choose.
Conversely, those who outsource will point to technology being a specialist function, with the core platform functionality almost commoditised. By outsourcing they can focus their attention on the wider proposition and adviser support functions.
Both models can and do work. It is up to advisers to decide what works best for them and their clients.
Like most things, consumer duty adds a further layer of complexity to this topic. The requirement for all firms to avoid foreseeable harms cuts to the heart of this decision-making process, both for the long term and any implementation period.
It is hard to see how the old days of saying 'technology upgrades are always difficult', in tandem with the resultant system down time, will stand up versus the consumer duty cross-cutting rules.
Looking at things more positively, there is a real opportunity for platform technology to help firms meet the requirements of consumer understanding and support consumer duty outcomes.
More options
As already mentioned, the evolving nature of platform technology means that advisers now have more choices available to them, with the emergence of a number of new providers and technology solutions.
Platforms such as Fundment, Platform One and Seccl open the door to a new world whereby advisers can white label the underlying technology, or even take on their own permissions becoming a Platform Service Operator.
This can enable the strategic upside of controlling your own proposition and technology – that the aforementioned in-house technology providers enjoy – to be shifted to the advice firm. If that sounds like a lot of work (and it is), then the evolving adviser back-office technology landscape might prove attractive.
New entrants such as CRM Planner are adopting a fully open approach to integrations, and more established players are too. Intelliflo’s recent announcement of their integration with SS&C/Hubwise has the potential to redefine the role of a platform within an advice business.
When advice firms are reviewing their platform selections it is increasingly not just about what the best solutions are in the immediate term, but whether they want to position themselves for a more fundamental change, using technology (whether that is platform and/or back-office system tech) to unlock business efficiencies and improved customer outcomes.
This win/win of an enhanced customer proposition and improvements to the bottom line is what everyone craves. If the business case shows these benefits could realistically be achieved, with minimal risk in doing so, it starts to become a no-brainer.
