Platform switching inefficiencies cost advice firms £517 million annually, new research from Woven Advice has shown.
Demand for platform switching is accelerating, driven by a number of key factors, including Consumer Duty, consolidation and rising cost pressures. As a result, the process is becoming increasingly data-heavy, high-risk and costly, the firm said.
Nicky Sevel, CEO of Woven Advice, said: “Much has been said about platform due diligence and strategy but real success is defined by execution; the hard work of making strategy a reality and the absolute success determinate is data quality.”
Sevel said to achieve data quality, better collaboration is needed to enable sustainable system integrations.
Sevel continued: “Our white paper showcases real-world innovations from fellow fintechs and us to dismantle the outdated notion that platform switching must remain costly, complex, or risky.
“So, this is our call to the entire sector: through collaboration and quality integrations we can drive data excellence to enable efficient platform switching. This will enable the fulfilment of our Consumer Duty responsibilities and eliminate £517 million in cost and inefficiencies to redefine service expectations for advisers and their clients.”
Chris Baigent-Reed, managing director of Jigsaw Tree, said consolidating assets onto a single platform is a game-changer for financial planning firms.
“The reality is, when assets are scattered across multiple platforms, advisers are forced into a juggling act of reconciling data manually, navigating different systems, and dealing with delays that drain both time and resources.”
He added: “We can no longer afford to manually pull through poor data nor rely on it for fundamental life decisions for our clients. With automated reporting and seamless integration, firms can shift their focus from admin burdens to what truly matters – client outcomes and business growth.”
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