The Financial Wellbeing and Support Assessment is a valuable and user-friendly tool that enables IFAs and financial planners to proactively identify and understand the diverse needs and potential vulnerabilities of their clients. This helps them to ensure tailored, accessible and compliant financial advice and services in alignment with the FCA's FG21/1 guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers.
In a compassionate and courteous manner, the assessment invites your client to reflect on various aspects of their life which may impact their financial decisions and wellbeing. Working with you or on their own, your client answers simple Yes/No questions and in under two minutes they receive from you a personalised report.
The tool can help IFAs and financial planners gain insights into their clients' unique circumstances, preferences and potential vulnerabilities, aligning with the FCA's emphasis on understanding the needs of the customer base.
The tool can guide IFAs and financial planners in adapting their service approaches to respond more flexibly and empathetically to the needs of vulnerable clients.
By using the tool, staff and team members can become more adept at recognising signs of vulnerability and understanding diverse client needs. This is crucial for developing the right skills and capabilities for creating great client outcomes.
The assessment can reveal clients' preferred communication methods and any specific requirements, helping firms tailor their interactions to be more accessible and understandable.
Insights gathered from the Financial Wellbeing Assessment can inform the design and adaptation of different or new services to ensure they meet the needs of vulnerable clients, avoiding potential harm.
Utilise the tool's insights to personalise marketing strategies and content, showcasing a commitment to understanding and addressing client vulnerabilities. This approach can attract prospects looking for empathetic and informed financial advice.
Right product at the right time - I'm sure this is going to be so well received. What an amazing thing to come up with, only today when I was updating a fact find with a client, it now asks how I've determined my client isn't vulnerable. I was lost with what to put, what a great tool to add to the client file. Absolutely well done.
— Lee, Financial Planner - February 2024
What is the Financial Wellbeing Assessment?
The Assessment will assist in supporting advisers' work in identifying vulnerable customers so that they can receive fair treatment, as the FCA expects firms to provide evidence of actions taken to ensure their fair treatment.
To identify vulnerable customers, adviser firms will need data, so the Financial Wellbeing Assessment will support advisers in finding that data.
How does the tool identify client vulnerabilities?
The assessment is in the form of a branded online quiz/scorecard or self assessment, where your client works through a series of simple questions related to their personal situation and communication preferences.
It takes around two minutes to complete, after which your client receives a personalised report based on their answers.
What training or support is available for using the tool effectively?
The software is highly intuitive and requires the minimum of training. However training is available online along with a comprehensive help and support service.
On both Pro and Standard levels, an initial Zoom call is offered to get you up and running so that all of your questions can be answered.
What information does the adviser gather and in what format?
Your software includes a back office dashboard which lists the name and contact details of each client who has taken the assessment. It also includes every answer given to every question, enabling you to follow up in a highly personalised manner.
There are links with a wide range of CRM tools and there is also the ability to export all your data. The data within the assessment is stored and processed in strict accordance with UK GDPR laws.
Can I change the questions to suit my client base?
Yes. A pre-prepared set of questions is provided within the software, though you can add, delete or alter any of them to suit your client type and/or your house communication style.
You could also create a completely different set of questions that are customised for different client segments.
Is it compulsory for clients to answer all of the questions?
No. Because of the nature of the assessment, some clients might wish to pass on a question. Whilst the questions are asked in a friendly, courteous and non-intrusive way, it is possible to skip any of them and move on.
If a client is interrupted or does not finish the assessment, they are able to pick up where they left off at a later time.
What is the best way to use the assessment with clients?
Financial advisers can use the tool in any way that they feel is appropriate to their business. But in the spirit of treating clients fairly and supporting those who may be vulnerable, it may work better to go through the assessment with your client - either in person or online over Zoom/Teams.
Whilst the questions in the assessment are straightforward, a potentially vulnerable or at risk client may well benefit from assistance whilst they complete it. For example, they might want to ask for the thinking behind a particular question.
When the personalised report is produced, advisers can then go through it with their client.
How do I get started?
Build time is five working days for Pro plans after an initial Zoom call or exchange of emails. For standard plans you can start customising your assessment as soon as you have set up your software account. Contact us for details.
What areas of potential vulnerability does the assessment cover?
The FCA advises that the four drivers of vulnerability include health, life events, resilience and capability. The assessment includes questions that cover each of these drivers, plus communication needs, confidence, social and economic factors, accessibility and recent changes.
Advisers should use the Vulnerability and Financial Resilience Assessment as just one tool in their armoury and as part of a broader strategy within their firm to identify and support vulnerable customers - complementing it with ongoing training, professional judgment, engagement with experts and continuous communication with clients.
Whilst a tool such as the Vulnerability and Financial Resilience Assessment will go a long way to helping advisers to identify vulnerable clients, it's important to be mindful of a few points:
The accuracy of the results can also depend on the honesty and self-awareness of clients when they respond, which could sometimes be influenced by their current state of mind or willingness to share personal information.
An adviser's ability to accurately interpret and act on the assessment's output could limit results, and can vary based on their expertise and experience.
Vulnerability can be transient or situational. You might not capture the full scope of a client's vulnerability if their circumstances change after the assessment.
Advisers could potentially become overly reliant on the tool, and might overlook other signs of vulnerability that the assessment does not cover.
Accuracy could be limited by cultural and social factors that might prevent some individuals from disclosing personal information, impacting the identification of vulnerabilities.
Knowing your client is an essential part of ensuring that advisers deliver good outcomes for individuals. Use the Financial Wellbeing Assessment to complement your normal factfinding activities.
The FCA FG21/1 Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers identifies health, life events, resilience and capability as key factors contributing to vulnerability. Our assessment encompasses these areas, along with additional dimensions such as communication needs, confidence, social and economic factors, accessibility and recent changes, to provide a comprehensive understanding of each client's situation.
Try our demonstration assessment and test it as if you were working with a real client...
Firstly, try out the demonstration version of the Vulnerability and Financial Resilience Assessment so that you can see how it works. In short, it is comprised of a landing page which can be customised with your branding, a series of simple Yes/No questions and finally a results page.
If you have any questions or would like to arrange a Zoom call to go through it in more detail, please send an email to philip@philipcalvert.com.
Your Pro plan consists of two elements: 1) Design and build of your client assessment tool, and 2) set up of your underlying software.
We start with a Zoom call to talk through any special requirements and to gather your contact details and branding assets (logo etc.) for customising the assessment tool.
Within just a few days you can test your first draft. We'll make any changes you need and when you're ready we'll put it live.
Summary:
£1,295 build and customisation
Software is billed separately. We will give you full instructions on how to set up your software account. There is no minimum tie in term for the software and can be paused or cancelled at any time.
Like the Pro plan, your Standard plan consists of two elements: a) Design and build of your client assessment tool, and b) set up of your underlying software.
The main difference is that on the Standard plan we give you instructions on how to customise the assessment yourself.
Again, we start with a Zoom call to talk through any questions you have, and also explain how to set up your software package.
Summary:
£795
Software is billed separately. We will give you full instructions on how to set up your software account. There is no minimum tie in term for the software and can be paused or cancelled at any time.
Empowering financial advice professionals to deliver personalised, empathetic advice by understanding each client's unique circumstances. An indispensable tool helping advisers to elevate their service quality and adapt to the diverse needs of their client base.
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