It’s Christmas and whilst everybody is feeling festive – we thought we’d use the 12 Days of Christmas as inspiration and look at 12 ways FE has helped Advisers this year!
2016 began with the launch of FE’s adviser proposition, FE Analytics+. The proposition brings together all the research tools and investment solutions FE provide to support Advisers’ needs. Over the last year, FE has played a key role in helping Advisers achieve investment success in turbulent markets and connecting & engaging better with clients to provide assurance in times of uncertainty.
Supporting your research:
- FINAMETRICA INTEGRATION: Alongside the inbuilt eValue risk questionnaire, the FE- FinaMetrica integration allows Advisers to access the FinaMetrica asset classes. Users of FE Analytics can now include the three FinaMetrica assets class into custom tables for an easy and powerful way of researching funds in bulk.
- IMPROVED SEARCH : With over 300,000 funds in the system, searching for a particular fund, share class or instrument can be a challenge. Hence we have introduced a new and enhanced fund search tool which recognises both words and codes for easy selection. The search feature is capable of returning up to 50 results, and supports the use of comma-separated lists of codes.
- BULK UPLOADER: This easy to use tool allows users to import large numbers of funds into their active list or portfolio by simply copying codes from any external source (for example: Excel or Word) and pasting them into the specialised import screen. The tool comes in particularly handy when onboarding clients’ existing portfolios, back office lists or platform information.
- FE TRANSMISSION: In last year’s end of year post we introduced FE Transmission, which was still at its infancy at the time. Yet since then, 25 of the UK’s leading Model Portfolio providers are now a part of the service including Brewin Dolphin, Charles Stanley, Old Mutual Wealth, Standard Life Wealth and Liontrust to mention a few.
The service allows Advisers to conduct granular research and bespoke comparison of the model providers they use for objective due diligence and client-specific reporting. - FE ANALYTICS+ DIGITAL: The power of FE Analytics now on your website! As more Advisers develop their digital presence, our new webtool feed allows Advisers to add fund, indices or model data on to their website to attract and engage prospects and clients.
Would you like to know more about going digital? Read our post on how to get started >>
Investment success:
- BREXIT – PROOF INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE: The FE Invest model portfolios are well diversified using strategic asset allocation from the UK’s leading stochastic risk modeller – eValue. This has helped our portfolios remain resilient without the need for short-term, tactical moves when markets faced turmoil during Brexit.
- GEOGRAPHICAL ALLOCATION: Post Brexit, the asset allocation of the portfolios was reviewed with a general trend to reduce UK equity exposure in favour of developed international equities. By carefully considering the geographic breakdown of the portfolios, the analysts were able to avoid concentration in specific regions like North America, which has been useful in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s election as US President.
- EXPOSURE TO GILTS: After careful consideration of strategic bonds, TAR and cash - GILTS were chosen to provide long-term diversification benefits in line with eValue’s guidance. The portfolios’ GILT positioning was increased in tandem with international equities for a healthy offset.
- LISTED PROPERTY Vs. PROPERTY: Due to the significant liquidity risk associated with investing in physical property funds, the FE Invest portfolios have never held options from this asset class. Liquidity risk cannot be assessed from past performance data and our portfolio building realises on precision & accuracy in data. These downsides are however minimised by investing in listed property funds.
- PLATFORM AVAILABILITY: In response to demand from Advisers, the portfolios are now available on Aegon, Ascentric, Aviva, Fusion, Nucleas, Novia, Standard Life and Transact.
Working with you:
- FE TRAINING ACADEMY: We launched the FE Academy earlier this year to offer training and ongoing support for our clients. Customised to the needs of advisers and paraplanners, the modular training options support the priorities of individuals and how they need to use our solutions.
Upon completion of training and an online assessment, Advisers can become an FE Academy Certified user of FE Analytics. With over 1/3rd of the UK adviser market using FE Analytics, we recognise how important knowledge of the tool is, in terms of recruitment (for firms) and professional development (for individuals).
- FE ADVISER FORUMS: Earlier this year, we took to the road across the country hosting the FE Adviser Forums. The event featured speakers offering technical insights and strategic views on the trends and issues in the market. FE Analytics training and surgery sessions were provided to nearly 200 Adviser clients across the country.
The 2017 FE Adviser Forums begin in February in Leeds. To book your place or find an event close to you please visit: http://www.financialexpress.net/financial-adviser-events
Please contact us at enquiries@financialexpress.net for information on any of the above.