The number one reason for any business’s success - clients who are satisfied with the services provided and who are eager to organically champion the business. The second reason - growing the business by acquiring more clients and attracting more revenue.

Whether you're working under your name or a brand name, as a wealth manager or IFA, the nature of your work is no different from running your own business. Understanding multiple clients with different needs, staying up-to-date with the macro and micro environmental factors that impact client investments and providing them with a quality service they can rely on can become overwhelming, even for the most experienced IFAs.

Add on top of that the anxiety around an unexpected pandemic and an ensuing recession from clients ranging from your high net worth individuals (HNWI) to your average saver it may seem like a lot to handle over Zoom. This is, of course, whilst you continue with all of your business as usual tasks, making sure that your clients get a good return on their cash.

The wealth management industry is well known for its conservatism and is currently undergoing a transformation with innovative cash management platforms, such as Akoni, paving the way. These changes to how the industry manages its clients should eliminate unnecessary stress from IFAs and help streamline processes, making it hassle free compared to the old-school way of working.

As the Financial Times put it: “Britain has a long history as a global home for wealthy individuals’ assets and a source of professional advice,” so it should come as no shock that as the world uses technologically-advanced solutions to solve many challenges, that the wealth management sector would also follow suit.

In previous years, savvy IFAs started to make the move from the more traditional way of working. Covid and the current recession are both catalysts for the drastic shift in behaviour and thinking amongst IFAs and how they service their clients.

According to BCG, the wealth management industry’s drop in growth in 2008 proved short-lived, and showed record growth in the years between 2003, 2005 and again in 2019. The FCA seems to believe that this is an optimistic time for IFAs too, stating that advice firm failures between January and April dropped 29% from the year prior, showing that long-term thinking is most definitely needed.

By advising remotely, IFAs can maintain relationships, however, it is not easy (although nothing worth having ever is). Everyone knows that it has become much harder to build a new relationship through video and phone calls, causing a sense of stagnation in growth as it has proved challenging to get new clients through the door due to the lack of human contact and presence.

To solve this, IFAs are turning to cash management platforms to provide more benefits and work with their clients intimately so that they can make up for the lack of personal contact.

So, if we were to dig deeper into this, why are more wealth managers moving to cash platforms?

Acquire more clients

With NS&I rates recently being slashed across the board, there is a window of opportunity for advising your clients to make the most of their cash savings via a platform which enables them to optimise their interest and diversify risk between providers in a seamless manner. Now is the time for IFAs to get the most out of cash management platforms to acquire clients.

With the increase of cash on the market, and rates continuing to plummet as the BoE promotes more lending from the banks to help rebuild the economy, many clients are uncertain and disillusioned with the traditional investment offerings, and are looking around for a better home to place their hard-earned cash.

Although it takes time to acquire new clients, and your bandwidth may be stretched as you adapt to this new way of working, thinking long-term on client acquisition is made easier with a cash management platform where you can add value instantly with a lot less effort than before.

Offering a self-service option, made easier through a cash management platform, is attractive to those who want to test the waters. Long-term, they can help you diversify your revenue streams as they become comfortable with the idea of placing cash via your cash management platform.

Service clients efficiently

To service clients well, focusing on providing a range of solutions is paramount, and is one of many reasons IFAs are flocking to new, simple to use cash management platforms. IFAs can work in a streamlined way across multiple investment opportunities without overwhelming themselves, and more importantly without overwhelming their clients.

Cash management platforms give IFAs more control, and in turn, allow them to give their clients more control over their money should they wish to take a more hands-on approach following professional advice.

By showcasing investment opportunities clearly on a single platform, IFAs can give clients the power to understand where their cash is going, leading to better relationships and potentially more clientele through word of mouth.

Seeing each client, where their investments are, and how their cash is performing on a single platform will save you time, allowing you to focus on your clients and the relationships you have with them.

Give your clients better returns

There is no better time to act than now. As we have written about previously on our blog, rates continue to drop across banks and traditional investment platforms, plus everywhere you look, there are rumblings of a negative rate potentially being implemented from the Bank of England. On top of that, and most importantly, clients are holding onto cash more now, than ever before with over £66 billion saved from clients this year, making it a higher figure than seen in previous years.

Diversifying a client’s cash savings is made easier with a cash management platform where you can move assets around proactively as the market reacts to continuing developments worldwide.

Having a single platform to multitask effectively and hone in certain areas where you want to make more of an impact - whether that’s establishing more meaningful relationships, or expanding your clientele whilst the market grows - can help you increase your market share and get your clients better returns in the process.

Forward-thinking, fast-moving, and thoughtful cash management platforms such as Akoni can build the foundation for a strong bridge between you and your clients.

In the end, we all want what is best for our clients, and at Akoni, we feel the same way about our clients - financial advisors - too.

So, why should you choose Akoni to help you with your client’s cash decisions?

1) Safe and secure with the FSCS Government deposit guarantee

All deposits are held with each bank providing protection of up to £85,000 per bank, or up to £1 million for Temporary High balances.

2) Diversifying risk (spreading money across savings providers)

With the option to spread cash across several providers on the Akoni Cash Management Platform, you can diversify risk, and increase the chances of positive returns.

2) Increased returns & Better interest rates

In a climate of economic uncertainty, and with interest rates being cut across many providers, it’s not easy to find decent interest rates in a simple way. With Akoni, you can find competitive interest rates to suit your client’s specific needs.

4) Quicker, and hassle-free - no form filling

Akoni Hub provides a hassle-free cash management experience - your clients can onboard and open an account online with no fuss. Clients will only need to complete one AML/KYC process, can switch between providers, and manage their account on the Akoni Cash Management Platform in just a few clicks.

5) White label Adviser portal and tools

You have the flexibility to create a platform that works for you and your clients. Add your branding to showcase who you are through a sleek, professional cash management platform designed with you in mind.

The award-winning Akoni Cash Management Platform is already leading the way in the wealth management sector, and has partnerships with Barclays, Aldermore, Investec, Clydesdale, amongst others. The ability to whitelabel the platform gives IFAs and financial advisors flexibility to help their clients move cash depending on ever-changing macro and micro environmental factors.

Find out more about Akoni: Akoni is an award-winning UK cash platform, which provides a marketplace to IFAs, financial advisors and wealth managers through a bespoke white-label offering, or off-the-shelf offering. Akoni uses innovative technology to personalise cash planning solutions for clients, and also provides a full API solution to banks and insurance clients.