- The new proprietary tool aims to be the quickest and easiest to use in the market
- It is available to all Seccl-powered platforms, and on a stand-alone basis
Seccl, the Octopus-owned custodian and platform technology provider, has launched its own custom-built drawdown illustration tool, allowing advisers to more easily summarise the projected value and sustainability of their clients’ retirement income.
The tool aims to be one of the fastest and most efficient in the market, with the entire process of generating a drawdown illustration taking under five minutes, assuming all of the client information is at hand.
Advisers can use the tool to illustrate the impact of either single Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS)* or Flexi-Access Drawdown (FAD)** withdrawal options – as well as income taken from General Investment Accounts (GIAs) and Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). However, the solution has been designed such that it can easily be used to illustrate any manner of product or tax wrapper in future.
The new drawdown capability builds on pre-existing illustration functionality for clients in ‘accumulation’ phase – meaning advisers using a platform built on Seccl’s technology now have access to an intuitive, fast and fully-functioning tool straight out of the box.
What’s more, the solution will also be available to use on a stand-alone, ‘software-as-a-service’ basis to companies who don’t already rely on Seccl’s underlying custody, trading and settlement engine; the firm is already in advanced discussions with a number of firms looking to license it. While adviser platforms typically make such tools available through their interface, it is rare for the underlying technology to have been developed in-house.
Explaining the decision to self-build, Sam Handfield-Jones, co-head of Seccl, said:
“There are plenty of existing tools out there, offered by specialist businesses who focus entirely on illustration software. But our research showed that these tools were quite expensive, had relatively long contracts, and produced illustrations that, in our view, weren’t the easiest to use or understand. Advisers were telling us that it could take anything from 15 to 25 minutes to create a single illustration. And so we decided to build our own that would take a fraction of the time.
“We’re confident that it will make life easier for all the advisers who use a Seccl-powered platform, as well as to other companies who would like to use the tool on its own.”
Liz Andrews, Financial Planning Director of Prydis Wealth (which uses the Seccl-powered P1 platform), added:
“Client illustrations are obviously a central component of the advice process, but they can be time consuming to produce. The tool that Seccl has built is faster and easier to use than any other we’ve used, which creates really important time savings for us as a firm. Every few minutes saved can add up to massive efficiency gains in the long-run.
“The team developed the entire tool from start to finish within a single six-week development cycle. It follows the company’s recent development of a fully digital and paper-free drawdown pension – and the launch of new all-in-one adviser platform, DIGI, powered by Seccl.
– Ends –
Notes to editors:
* Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sums refer to individual lump sum withdrawals from any part of a pension that hasn’t already been crystallised. 25% of the withdrawn amounts are tax free, with the remaining 75% taxed at the client’s marginal rate.
**Flexi-access drawdown (FAD) allows for an initial tax-free lump sum withdrawal (a Pension Commencement Lump Sum, or ‘PCLS’) of up to 25% of the total pension pot (or a portion that’s crystallised), with the remaining invested amount providing regular income payments that are taxed at the client’s marginal rate.
For journalists in their professional capacity only. Issued by Seccl Technology Limited. Registered in England and Wales at 20 Manvers Street, Bath, BA1 1JW (Number: 10237930). Issued: December 2020.