3HFB FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE
Working together to
find tailored solutions
to address to ensure that everyone,
young and old, can access professional
financial advice when required.
To help navigate the changing regulation
and financial services landscape, HFB,
along with many smaller adviser firms,
operates under a network. Our network,
Intrinsic Financial Planning, provides us
with vital back office and compliance
support allowing us to provide the right
financial outcomes for our clients.
New technologies
Everyone is increasingly dependent on
technology – we cannot escape it. At
HFB, we have always tried to integrate
technology into the way that we work
with our clients. Nothing will replace the
personal relationship between an adviser
and their client, but the better advisers
will fully embrace this new technology to
further enhance the relationship. We are
increasingly using video conferencing as
a way of maintaining regular and cost-
effective face-to-face client contact.
We have increased the use of platform
accounts for clients’ investments and
pensions. This helps us to consolidate
existing arrangements into one place,
allowing both the client and the adviser
greater transparency and ease of access.
Clients who have less complex
financial planning needs may require
a more cost-effective advice solution,
commonly known as “robo-advice”.
By partnering with Old Mutual Wealth,
HFB is able to provide a simplified online
advice process that helps clients invest
into single solutions such as anISA.
Online automated advice technology is
unlikely, on its own, to replace financial
advisers – there will always be a need
for clients to meet face to face with
advisers, especially when undertaking
complex financial planningissues.
Social change
The increasing average age of the UK
population presents a challenge to our
clients and the country as a whole.
Pension freedoms legislation, introduced
in 2015, allows clients to access their
pension plans in a more flexible way. It
has meant that the need for ongoing
financial advice into retirement is now
more important than ever. Gone are
the days when most clients reached
retirement, purchased an annuity and
passed on the responsibility of their
ongoing pension income to an insurance
company. Clients are now more likely
to want to manage their own income
requirements and pass whatever is left
from their pension to their dependents
when they die. Bearing in mind the
ongoing increase in life expectancy, most
clients will need advice to ensure that
this ongoing income can besustained.
The baby boom generation are now the
wealthiest people in society, with home
ownership and pension and investment
portfolios commonplace. Ensuring that
their assets are passed on to their children
and dependents is high on their financial
planning agenda. The most tax-efficient
way clients are likely to achieve this is
through the services of a financial adviser.
An increase in life expectancy has also
increased the need for effective long-
term care planning. This is an area of
advice that needs to be dealt with in a
considerate and sensitive manner, and
one which requires specialist face-to-
face financial advice. We understand
and appreciate the emotional stress
surrounding the care of a loved one, as
well as the financial worry of funding the
cost of long-term care (that can deplete
assets and reduce any inheritance).
The future
At HFB, we ensure our clients are
put at the heart of everything we do.
Our business will continue to grow,
overcoming the challenges posed by the
rapidly changing environment within
which we operate. We will continue
to embrace technology and use it to
enhance our clients’ advice journey,
while also providing the face-to-face
relationship our clients enjoy. We look
forward to the future, embracing it with
a sense of positivity and optimism.
At HFB, we
have always
tried to
integrate
technology
into the way
that we work
with our
clients
“
“
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles
