Fidelity launches ‘game changing’ advice software

Fidelity has teamed up with Canadian fintech company Conquest to launch a new software offering for the UK advice market.

Conquest Planning will use data and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide advisers with greater insight into clients’ changing circumstances.

This will allow them to model recommendations in real-time and understand immediately how they might impact clients’ goals.

Its technology processes data in a variety of ways to build and compare different plans to create more time for advisers to spend with their clients.

The software includes a digital assistant called Strategic Advice Manager (SAM) to support the advice process in several ways by creating client “profiles” incorporating information about their objectives, priorities, and risk tolerances.

The service has been developed to support integration into advisers’ existing technology systems and tailored to their specific needs.

Fidelity says the system will allow advisers to analyse plan data and apply best practices around financial strategies, business intelligence and client sentiment to present “prioritised strategies”.

SAM will also be able to carry out real-time scenario planning, enabling advisers to model and re-model changes to a client’s plan and understand how a change in their recommended strategy – such as saving more or retiring later – will affect their outcomes.

And it will provide advisers with a consistent, branded summary report of their recommendations to share with clients, helping to improve the overall experience of delivering financial advice.

Conquest planning will be available to UK intermediaries through Fidelity Adviser Solutions.

This marks Fidelity’s latest expansion of business services offered beyond its core platform.

It was launched at the Financial Technology Research Centre’s Empowering Advice Through Technology conference today (26 May).

Speaking to Money Marketing FTRC director Ian McKenna said: “The Fidelity-Conquest partnership is genuinely transformational.

“I think we need to recognise that with Funds Network, it was effectively Fidelity that invented platforms as we know it in this country.

“I see this partnership and conquest as just as pivotal. This is exactly the sort of advice automation that can be an enormous catalyst to reducing the cost of advice and widening its accessibility.”

Head of Fidelity Adviser Solutions Jackie Boylan said the tech has the potential to “transform the way advisers engage with their clients”, and ultimately “the way they do business”.

“By creating a consistent framework for delivering robust financial plans, it improves the efficiency of client reviews and provides advisers with the opportunity to help more people benefit from advice and potentially engage with new clients, as well as review how they operate as a business.”

She said the business was “hugely excited” to partner with Conquest following its success in Canada.

“Its solutions have the potential to change the way financial services companies operate and partnering with the team to deliver ‘Conquest Planning’ to the UK advice market is a significant step for Fidelity Adviser Solutions,” she added.

Conquest president and CEO Mark Evans said: “After tremendous early success, modernising advice delivery for over 15,000 advisers in Canada, we are excited for the opportunity to bring ‘Conquest Planning’ to the UK.

“When building Conquest, the ability to support multiple geographies was a priority as access to financial advice is a global challenge.

“Our AI approach to advice provides independent financial advisers with a powerful, yet intuitive platform to efficiently build and manage financial plans.”