Provisio targets intra-fund advice

Published: Financial Standard (26/5/2010) - View original article

Financial technology provider Provisio Technologies is looking to cater to the intra-fund advice market with the release of a new advice delivery service, Provisio Version 3.

Cameron O'Sullivan, a director of Provisio Technologies, said several industry super funds have taken an early lead on the "Rapid Advice Delivery" solution.

"The government is promoting intra-fund advice as a key component of its financial advice reform. Therefore the advice capabilities provided by funds must extend far beyond the online calculators we are all accustomed to," he said.

The Provisio software caters for intra-fund advice, with a focus on supporting advisers' needs and simplifying the process for members, he said.

The software will support optimisation of contributions, insurance, investment choice and transition to retirement, which now all fall under the scope of the intra-fund advice rules.

It will also extend the way in which advice can be delivered, providing the option for advice delivery via web, call-centre or traditional face-to-face.

"No matter whether a member seeks advice via the web, a call centre or face-to-face the numbers should be the same, the recommended strategy should be the same and the final advice documents should be the same."

Provisio's solution supports online web-based tools allowing members to perform their own analysis, while integrating those tools with the software used by advisers to provide more comprehensive financial planning capabilities.

O'Sullivan said the solution was designed to cater for members and advisers separately, because a single solution could not properly accommodate the needs of both.

"By keeping adviser and member interfaces separate we can maintain the full functionality of the financial planning system, which is essential for advisers, while maintaining simple online tools that funds can tailor to the way they want to communicate with their members."