Fidelity Fundsnetwork has announced measures making it easier for advisers to upload documents during lockdown, but the platform sector has been accused of generally being behind the curve on digital processing and implementing “short-term fixes rather than long-term solutions”.
Fundsnetwork announced on Thursday it has brought forward the launch of its Upload and Send function which lets advisers upload the 18 most-common documents directly to the relevant team. It said this will reduce the time taken to post documents, bypass initial filtering and reduce reliance upon paper.
In a press release announcing the change, Fundsnetwork said it has plans to extend the service to cover all remaining document types over the coming weeks.
Fundsnetwork said Upload and Send has always formed part of a wider plan to expand its digital offering for advisers, which also includes the acceptance of electronic signatures, but the proliferation of remote working during lockdown had forced it to speed up the roll out.
Fundsnetwork head of proposition, growth and strategy Danny Wynn said: “Most of the business conducted on Fundsnetwork is submitted online without signatures and processed automatically by our systems, however certain documents have still required offline processing.
“The addition of Upload and Send, combined with our move to accept digital signatures, means almost 99% of all transactions and instructions enabled through the platform can take place without the need for paper or wet signatures – helping to alleviate some of the administrative burden facing advisers.”
Makes life easy for advisers
Langcat consultant Mike Barrett (pictured) said while the move by Fundsnetwork was not particularly innovative and a number of other providers will have implemented similar capabilities, it will make life easier for advisers.
Barrett said the move to online and paper processes as Covid hit markets would have been business as usual for some providers but for others, the pace of change has been unusually quick.
“All things considering, most have risen to the challenge really well.”
Short-term fixes as opposed to long-term solutions
But Barrett said generally as a sector platforms have been behind in terms of digital processing capabilities. While most have signature-free capabilities, the level at which this is applied varies widely, depending on the process.
He said: “The industry is moving rapidly to improve things, but in a lot of cases these feel like short-term fixes as opposed to long-term solutions.”
Difference between young and old platforms
Fundscape chief executive Bell Caridade-Ferreira agreed Fundsnetwork’s move is not a pioneering one as other platforms already have similar processes in place. But she noted a difference between young and old platforms regarding the advancement of their digital capabilities.
“The younger platforms and have been able to adapt more quickly,” she added. “But older platforms have struggled to adapt as their process are still very paper-driven – uploading documents and wet signature requirements have been a particular issue for some platforms.”
