AstuteWheel Managing Director, Hans Egger, says the goal when AstuteWheel was first launched in 2012 was to deliver an online program that makes advice practices become more efficient and compliant in their business, so that they can focus on having deeper, more valuable relationships with their clients.
‘To meet this objective, we set out to streamline and automate as many financial planning functions as possible,’ he says. ‘We were also careful to design our processes and tools with the end client in mind. We still apply this thinking today, as we continue to enhance the program to meet the ever-changing needs of advisers and their clients.’
AstuteWheel 4.0 features a secure client portal, enhanced client relationship management (CRM) functionality and practice management/business improvement tools and, from July 2023, direct Xplan integration.
The Client Portal
Prospects and clients provide their information through a portal which is protected by two-factor authentication and the latest cybersecurity protocols.
‘The client portal is an engaging and secure way to communicate with clients and prepare for meetings,’ Mr Egger says. ‘Advisers can quickly create a task list for their prospects and clients to complete questionnaires in their personalised portal. Clients can also access the portal to view an ever-expanding picture of their financial position with useful charts and other valuable visuals making the process interactive and fun.’
CRM functionality
‘CRM requirements are changing as advisers transition to smaller client bases requiring higher touch, value added services and compliance tracking,’ Mr Egger says.
To that end, AstuteWheel 4.0 provides practices with:
- A dashboard screen which enables advisers to track all client advice activity daily, weekly, monthly, or annually.
- Task management which ensures all team members understand what’s required of them for each client activity.
- Compliance tracking of annual or ongoing fee arrangements, FDS commitments and KYC compliance requirements.
- Tailored document and file note templates to suit individual advice practices.
- Ability to track time spent on clients and compare to revenue received.
Practice management and business improvement tools AstuteWheel 4.0 tools include:
- Online questionnaires which include financial health check, mini factfind, goals, values, life areas, estate planning, budgeting, reverse factfind and more
- The goals tool which guides client discussions to make goals SMART and actionable. Goals are then tracked and revised at review meetings
- The scoping tool is embedded in the explanation of the financial planning process, allowing advisers to educate clients on the scope and value of the advice. Fee discussions are much easier when the client understands how much work is being done for them and the benefits they can expect
Direct Xplan integration
From July 2023, Xplan integration will be available directly from AstuteWheel’s database using the Iress open API capability, allowing advisers to combine the powerful client engagement tools of AstuteWheel with Xplan’s back of office functionality.
‘The secret sauce of AstuteWheel is that it has, for some time now, enabled the delivery of compliant repeatable processes that provide a time and date stamped audit trail while simultaneously helping advisers focus on client engagement,’ Mr Egger says.
‘Our goal is to continue to meet the technology challenge, so that advisers can be more efficient and compliant in their businesses and therefore, most importantly, have deeper and more valuable relationships with their clients.’
