According to Ian McKenna, founder of Financial Technology Research Centre and AdviserSoftware.com, the trend of using cash flow modelling tools has been towards systems with user-friendly interfaces that allow considerable amounts of 'what-if' scenario planning by advisers, and increasingly consumers.
Some of the earlier systems were very data hungry and while they could produce extremely complex reports, these were very much an acquired taste; loved by some advisers but by no means all.
“Some firms position them as an essential part of the proposition, however, the growth in the market has been catalysed by propositions that are easier to use and can deliver understandable insights on even relatively limited amounts of data – although, the more information that is added the more granular the analysis that can be generated,” McKenna adds.
Ima Jackson-Obot is deputy features editor at FTAdviser
