While many advisers are looking to upgrade their internal systems, more than ever are moving away from paper records - however, according to one adviser these can still be useful, especially if you’re dealing with a specific age group.
Anand Srinivasan, of Brisk Insurance, says that while the younger generation is perfectly happy to complete transactions electronically, older generations still prefer to have an ink-on-paper signature and personal contact with their broker. He says having your business set up for both methods can be very useful, and can offer clients the flexibility to transact in a way that is most comfortable for them.
“What I find is that when you’re talking to the younger generation, people in their 20s and 30s, they don’t actually want to sign anything - everything is electronic,” Srinivasan explained.
“Here I use the system of saying ‘this is what I need you to complete,’ and they’re happily willing to answer all the fact-finding questions and send it to you while sitting in their bedroom. They don’t necessarily want to see you unless it’s required.”
“Then there are people of my age group who don’t like doing things online,” he continued.
“They want to see you, have a cup of coffee, shake your hand, look into your eyes and feel confident. For them, paperwork works beautifully because they don’t really feel they’ve bought anything unless they’ve signed something.”
Srinivasan says that for those who are time-poor, the electronic solution works very well from beginning to end. And while paper records are still useful for some clients, he says it’s also vital for advisers to install cloud-based technology, as this will keep a record without relying on physical storage.
“In terms of a database, the cloud is of course important,” he said.
“Any plans that we put in place should outlive me and be available to the next adviser who takes over the business.”
“With the cloud, your office could burn down, but you still have your information,” he added. “But I still deal with paper files because I realised very early on that a signature always helps, and clients love the fact that there’s an engagement. So, depending on the age group I’m dealing with, I’ve created my systems to react to that.”
