Long live advice

By: Heinrich Punt, General Manager of Intermediaries at Sanlam.

Now is the time for insurers and advisers to build on their respective value propositions, as professionals. With the focus on the wellbeing of the client, we have entered a time of incredible opportunity.

There is a change happening in the insurance, life risk and wealth management space when it comes to intermediaries that have made advice their calling. Hastened by the Covid-19 pandemic, this change sees positive opportunities for intermediated advice practices to be more future-forward in the design of their client offering. It also brings a realisation that practices need to be more deliberate and thoughtful to create future-savvy businesses.

This journey will continue in 2023 and beyond, specifically when it comes to embracing digital innovation and how this relates to being more engaging. The clients of today are leading their own lives and are digitally connected to a lot of information. In this context, advisers must understand they need to change the financial planning relationship to one that is more and more client-led and not solely planner-led.

Let’s get ‘phygital’

Becoming more ‘phygital’ in their approach to clients is one of the many chapters in this journey. This term, coined some years ago, refers to blending digital experiences with physical ones. Interpretation of the needs of clients in a human way is difficult with technology, and it is only through the affinity of human interaction and advice that clients gain confidence.

Blending the human and technological approach in an intuitive fashion is where advisory practices are heading, both locally and internationally. Gone are the days when a client would see their planner or adviser face-to-face once a year. Clients of today are much more agile; they want the interaction now and require more regular engagements with advisers, whether physically or digitally. This regular, appropriate messaging instills confidence in clients and this confidence forms an important part of the client-led advice journey. Financial planners can benefit from this client ownership and confidence.

Data-led client-centricity

Data-led means using the enormous amount of information at the disposal of an intermediary to gain a unique understanding of the changing needs of their clients. Using this type of business intelligence adds enormously to the value proposition on offer and can take an intermediary business into a new realm. Being data-led is paramount to the modern planning practice keeping up with the evolution of the industry.

Relationship-led advice needs to be provided within the context of a client’s life cycle, and at various points within their financial journey with clients feeling empowered.

Opportunities for intuitive insight

While the need to access advice itself is not going anywhere, how it is intelligently interpreted is changing. Incorporating intuitive insight relevant to a specific client is what really instills confidence, and this is creating opportunities for clients and intermediaries alike.

Evolving the advice value proposition takes more work than can be done in one year and involves continuous change. Whether an independent broker or an insurer-linked adviser, this evolution should involve associating with the right partners to inform growth within this new world. Sanlam is one such partner that can inform and empower intermediaries to transform their practices toward client-led advice practices that create a live with confidence credo for both intermediary and client.