The new Letter of Authority (LoA) Data Checklist Standard, spearheaded by the Fix LoA Action Group (FLAG), is gaining significant traction, with over 70 registrations from a wide range of firms and technical specialists.
The new checklist, created from demand gathered from FLAG and delivered and maintained by standards organisation Criterion, is designed to streamline and standardise LoA data. It enables advisers to set out the expected returned data from platforms, providers and schemes.
FLAG said that by repeatedly setting out the standard expectations of what information is to be returned, at scale, providers will have demand for a standard framework that drives standard LoA responses via systems. This will reduce the time it takes to fulfil LoA requests, minimise follow-up calls and questions, increase data accuracy and completeness and provide the response in a machine-readable format for advisers to use in their various systems.
Feedback to data has been strong, including positive engagement from pension and investment providers, the group said.
Outcomes from a review session to be held by Criterion on 1 May will be shared with FLAG in mid-May.
Nick Green, strategy and proposition director at Criterion, said: “There’s clear interest and engagement across the board. The feedback we’ve received differs by stakeholder group, which reflects the complexity and reach of the LoA process but this is where our expertise as a standards body comes to the fore by weaving in the different requirements into a usable and foundational tool to enable improved LoA responses.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming those who have downloaded the checklist to our dedicated feedback session on 1 May. This input is crucial; it will directly influence the development of the checklist for other product types and support all key players involved in LoA processing.”
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