Verbatim enhances risk profiling tools to improve client experience

Verbatim Asset Management, the holistic financial planning and whole of market portfolio management solution, has announced a series of enhancements to its risk profiling tools (provided by Distribution Technology).

The enhancements are all intended to help financial advisers continue to meet the FSA guidelines on managing clients’ investment risk.  The range of changes help clarify particular points of the advice process, and, of particular importance, the wording has now been approved by the Plain English campaign, meaning that advisers can have comfort that financial issues are being explained in the clearest way possible.  The range of changes include:

• The wording of the risk profile descriptions has been enhanced to provide clearer explanations to the client of the level of investment risk being undertaken.  Approved by the Plain English Campaign, the profile descriptors now use language appropriate to non-specialist investors thus helping to ensure it is ‘fair, clear and not misleading’.
• Enhanced ‘Know your client’ tools that record investment timescales, liquidity requirements and capacity for loss.
• The planning tool will identify any questions where the client has given conflicting answers, enabling advisers to document conflicting answers in their report.

Managing Director of Verbatim, Neil Stevens, explained: “The purpose of the enhancements is to help advisers develop a greater understanding of their clients’ investment knowledge, objectives and beliefs.  We are particularly excited to be able to offer descriptors that have been approved by the Plain English campaign – we believe this truly demonstrates that it is possible to deliver the sort of clarity ordinary people need around financial product advice.  We hope to champion this approach further as we develop the Verbatim Asset Management suite of products.”

Verbatim Asset Management, launched in March 2010, already has over 2000 regular users.