Good advice depends on good information. For paraplanners, building a reliable data foundation is becoming just as important as technical expertise in delivering positive client outcomes. Preya Patel, Managing Director at Raw Knowledge talks about the changing expectations, evidence required and where some may fall short.
The importance of good quality data is shifting from a back-office concern to a management priority. With the requirements of Consumer Duty, ongoing service scrutiny and, more recently, the review of board reports, data can no longer be just something advice firms hold. It’s now the primary means for them to demonstrate they are delivering good client outcomes.
The FCA’s paper on board reports, updated in March, reinforces this shift. Data features prominently in examples of good practice.
Robust data quality is highlighted as one of the five key aspects of effective reports and stronger firms are distinguished by clear data governance and management information that properly supports their conclusions.
However, better data quality is also identified as one of its five main areas for improvement, with the regulator finding that many firms still struggle to evidence decisions with sufficiently robust, reliable information.
Regulatory expectations are changing and a narrative explanation is no longer enough. Firms are now expected to evidence outcomes with data that is consistent, complete and trustworthy. Unfortunately, this is where many fall short.
To close the gap, firms need more from their data. As well as supporting reporting and compliance, data must help them interrogate their own performance and answer core Consumer Duty questions.
Are clients receiving the service they were promised? Are outcomes consistent across different client groups? Are interventions making a measurable difference? Without high-quality, well-governed data, firms are left relying on assumptions rather than evidence.
Encouragingly, most advice professionals recognise the opportunity good data presents. Dynamic Planner’s Advice 2025 report found that 85% of firms see it as essential or useful to their future.
Better data brings clearer operational visibility, deeper client insight and more consistent advice delivery. The challenge is managing it effective in practice.
Many advice firms continue to operate with fragmented data environments. Client information is spread across CRMs, platforms, back-office systems, risk tools and cashflow models.
Often the same data is held in multiple places, resulting in duplication, inconsistency and inefficiency. Key information including client objectives, risk profiles and asset values can exist in different versions and across multiple systems.
Poor quality and incomplete data add to the problem, further hampering efficiency and effective reporting and planning. It also increases the risk of inaccurate information being shared with clients, which can also undermine trust.
To address this, firms need a single source of truth. In simple terms, this means a unified, governed data layer that provides one consistent and trusted view across the business.
It provides a solid foundation for reporting, insight and operational decision-making. The question is how to achieve this without replacing their entire technology stack.
Modern data platforms provide one solution. These platforms sit across existing systems, bringing data together and standardising it into a single, coherent view.
They enable firms to combine data across clients, products, assets and income streams, while also supporting both client and regulatory reporting from the same underlying dataset.
They also provide robust data lineage, allowing firms to see how data has changed over time and evidence how decisions have been made. In a regulatory environment where auditability is becoming more important, this is fast becoming essential.
Until recently, delivering this would have been complex and resource intensive. Newer tools, like generative AI, low-code platforms and modern data architectures, now make it much easier to bring data together.
Firms can now improve data quality, integrate disparate systems and maintain a clear audit trail, without replacing their existing infrastructure.
This is the thinking behind platforms such as Managed Smart Data, which aim to unify and govern data across existing systems.
They provide a single, reliable foundation for reporting, insight and compliance, without the need for a full rebuild.
As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, data governance will become central to how advice firms operate and how they are assessed.
Those that invest now in building a robust data foundation will be better placed to respond. They will be able to demonstrate compliance with confidence, operate efficiently and deliver more consistent client outcomes, while also identifying opportunities for growth.
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