On the advised side, Aviva isn’t having it easy in its move from Bravura to FNZ. Problems have ranged from functionality being unavailable, to trades not being settled, to – horror of horrors – adviser fees not being paid in a timely manner. And if ever there was anything unforgivable, it’s not getting adviser fees paid on time.
Next steps
So what’s gone wrong? It’s too early to tell for sure, but there is always a huge gulf between testing a system in a ‘safe’ environment, and a full-on live deployment, and I suspect the delta between the two is what we’re seeing here.
We have no shortage of advisers expressing displeasure to us – a function of the remarkable success Aviva has had recently with its platform. Many have asked what we at the Lang Cat think they should do as a result of the issues, and here’s what we think.
Our view is that if an adviser picked Aviva as a destination for their clients’ hard-earned cash, then they must have thought it was suitable. Nothing we see makes it any less suitable than it was. The issues advisers are having with Aviva are real – they’re not imagining them. But they will pass. This has been a tougher implementation than we all thought it would be. No one knows that better than the folk in York, who are mainlining caffeine as we speak to try and sort it all out.
To be critical of Aviva – it should have pushed FNZ harder to ensure error-free ball at the live implementation. But in its defence, it has played everything with a completely straight bat. If you visit the Aviva For Advisers website and look at its replatforming ‘whiteboard’, you’ll see the known issues displayed for all to see.
That takes guts and shows a commendable transparency, which I think should be rewarded with patience from advisers. No one wants to be here, but here we are and it’s about making the best of it.
Generally speaking, I think that if a provider hits major issues, which it demonstrates it understands and is addressing, then an appropriate reaction from advisers is to be cautious with new business flow. It is inappropriate to start transferring clients away. If nothing else, doing so places additional stress on the business and is likely to lead to additional problems.
It’s better to keep a calm head, wait out the issues and see how the land lies once business as usual has resumed.
