One of the major misconceptions around “robo-advisors” is that the intention behind them is that the technology is just a fancy way to disintermediate people from receiving high-quality financial advice from trained professionals and from our point of view, that isn’t what Robo-Advisors should be about.
When we designed OUTvest, our primary goal was to use a scientific approach to help everyone make better investing decisions. The way we did it was to create an investment solution that worked like a car, an investment solution that was designed and built to offer extremely high quality investment plans and exposures in a way that anyone could use.
The complexity was there, it was just hidden behind a simple digital user interface. Investing for OUTcomes, the scientific methods behind OUTvest. It was never about disintermediating advisors, but building towards an integrated platform advisors could use to push the boundaries of traditional advice.
In fact, we use qualified advisors as a key part of our business already, they check every single new application, deliver annual reviews and deal with queries.
At their core, the majority of financial planners reap the best rewards from clients who manage their money in a sustainable, long-term manner. We believe we put the tools in the hands of them and their clients to do this.
Reading the “Rise of Robo-Advice” report from Accenture, one of the key themes that comes through is the importance of the human element in the relationship. A robo-advisor can identify suitable investment strategies and facilitate investment in a transparent and cost-effective manner. The financial advisor role is one of reassuring a client through rocky markets – such as the current state of affairs in August 2019 - and encouraging them to take action when it is required.
But what is behind OUTvest? Is it a couple of “techies” tinkering with software and tweaking algorithms?
Not at all.
We have a skilled team doing a number of critical tasks including:
-
Real-life financial planners interacting with clients around their engagements with OUTvest.
-
Our Investment Committee comprises experts in the fields of asset management and financial planning and they meet on a regular basis to interrogate the performance of the investment portfolios.
-
Product development specialists with actuarial and mathematical skills that allow us to expand our offering with tax-efficient products like our OUTvest Fixed Outcome Endowment.
-
As part of the OUTsurance stable, we are held to the highest professional and reporting standards which means our compliance team have to be kept abreast with new developments around tax and industry legislation.
If you are serious about building long-term wealth, you need to know that you have the best team in your corner.
The OUTvest offering gives you both cutting-edge technology backed up by skilled professionals, ultimately bringing together a unified client-advisor experience aimed at enhancing your wealth in a meaningful manner.
See the resources that OUTvest brings to your wealth planning:
-
Online education calculator to make sure that you have set aside enough for your child’s education.
-
Money Advice platform to empower you to make smarter financial decisions.
-
Tax-Free investment and Savings plan is the ideal place for investors to get started with tax-savvy savings strategies.
-
Online wedding calculator to track your savings requirements for the big day.
-
A holiday calculator for rewarding yourself at the end of a hard year.
-
A before-tax-rate calculator that helps you calculate the before tax rate you would need from a fixed deposit to beat the interest rate offered from our endowment.