The 7IM Retirement Planning Service has the flexibility to accommodate different pots for financial priorities and risk profiles, the firm said.
It creates an integrated service to help advisers deliver the income their clients need throughout various life stages, 7IM added.
Advisers can choose how they use the retirement planning service depending upon their practice’s business model. The three options are the 7IM Discretionary Service, the 7IM Managed Investment Service and the 7IM Platform.
The service is flexible – so advisers can use as much or as little as they want – and comes with no additional charges beyond the normal platform and investment management fees.
Opportunity for advisers
Verona Smith, head of platform at 7IM, said: “Financial planning was always a skilled and difficult job, but there was a sense with many clients that you got them to retirement and the purchase of an annuity and they were safely home. While annuities will still be the right option for some people, there are now far more options and now many clients need supporting far beyond their retirement date.
“That creates an opportunity for advisers, but also puts a lot of pressure on them, because clients risk not achieving the retirement lifestyle they have envisioned during their working years.
“There are plenty of firms out there offering to deliver the investment management element, but with this service we’ve tried to provide a complete package of support that’s available to the adviser at every stage of the process. The ultimate outcome is that it should make it easier for an adviser to take on more clients while still giving each of them outstanding service.”
No additional charge
Smith added: “Once they’ve got the right plan in place, advisers need investments that meet their clients’ long-term return expectations. As part of the service, our relationship managers will sit down with the adviser and draw up an investment recommendation to help match client assets to the right funds, models and services.
“The other thing we have to acknowledge is that advisers help clients see their money in terms of pots – each with a different purpose and often a different time horizon and risk mandate. Managing in decumulation can add to the number of pots – some money will be needed next year, some in 20 years and some potentially for the next generation.
“Many platforms struggle to cope with this; we’ve worked hard to overcome that problem and build the flexibility into our platform to integrate it effectively within the service.”
