Record of Advice production time slashed from half an hour to just seconds

MA Operator, the Australian fintech for independent financial advisers, has a new tool that produces Records of Advice (ROAs) in a matter of seconds.

MA Operator’s closest published competitor is only able to produce ROAs in 30 minutes. This was announced in 2016 and at the time was a significant reduction from the still widely-used overnight process.

Richard McLean, CEO at Frontier Financial Group, said: “MA Operator’s ROA automated generation takes away days of effort and removes significant costs from our business. More importantly the clients are provided electronic signing of their ROAs, reducing the market lag and increasing the accuracy of the advice, as well as providing a full audit of the client communication and their digital response.”

ROAs are legally required to advise clients of changes in their portfolios. Delays in production and client agreement add risk as markets can change significantly between the time of advice and implementation. The documents contain brokerage and other transaction costs; indirect product costs; the estimated CGT outcome; and the strategic, tactical and variance in the asset allocation as a result of this recommendation. This complexity has previously meant that automation of all these calculations has been near impossible, leaving the best interests of the client at risk.

Nigel Baron, Financial Consultant at Wealthmed, commented: “A single change in a model portfolio can affect hundreds of clients, all of whom need to respond individually to the recommendation. MA Operator’s rebalancing and ROA generation workflows link each client’s response electronically to the market execution of orders, hence enabling incredible scale and efficiency we didn’t have access to in the past.”

MA Operator launched in July 2016. The firm offers the AFSL and their practices the ability to  customise ROAs based upon their specific style, compliance needs and client base, said co-founder Shannon Bernasconi. “We worked with our adviser clients on their requirements for the ROA process. Each practice can have their own ROA templates, look and feel, and change the commentary on demand,” she said. “Our technology reduces effort, increases accuracy and timeliness of the individualised ROA, and ensures the client’s response and interests remain integral to the process.”