Retirement planning software provider RetireUp has formed what it calls a strategic partnership with RepPro, makers of a web-based application to automatically fill out financial forms, to create RetireUpPro, an "end-to-end" retirement income planning tool that, the company says, can help advisors and their firms comply with the Department. of Labor’s fiduciary rule.
The new system is meant to help advisors onboard new clients, create a plan and execute transactions. The platform also allows advisors to purchase annuities and file necessary paperwork in real-time. Annexus Ventures, a venture capital firm that makes early investments in insurance and financial technology startups, is supporting the system’s development.
RetireUpPro combines RetireUp and RepPro into a new user interface, one that integrates with CRM systems to pre-populate client forms.
“When you land on RetireUpPro’s forms interface, you’re about 60 percent of the way through, and it takes less than 10 minutes to complete a transaction, whereas as a financial advisor in the past, it probably would’ve taken me about an hour and half easily to really get that thing fully scrubbed and out the door to either my distribution or to the insurance company,” said Patrick Kelly, CEO of RepPro.
RetireUpPro also includes a third component, a review queue, where all the forms and paperwork can be reviewed by the broker/dealer for suitability or fiduciary purposes.
“We’ve provided an overview, and based on working with certain financial institutions, we can determine that maybe there are 20 different metrics or key data points that they look at in order to determine whether something is suitable or not, or in the client’s best interest or not,” said Kelly.
The software will then assign each data point a status—i.e., red light, yellow light, or green light—as to whether an item needs further attention.
Most firms dealing with the fiduciary rule have just "put more documentation requirements back on the advisor,” said Jim Richards, director of the board of RetireUpPro and managing partner of Annexus Ventures.
RetireUpPro captures the necessary data, provides a full audit trail of the conversation between the advisor and client, including the client's individual risk profile and the reasons a particular portfolio decision was made. It then drives any necessary forms, such as a customized best interest contract, to the b/d.
“Based on where you logged into the system from, we know what broker/dealer XYZ’s form requirements are, and we have them uploaded into our system,” Richards said. “Then we take the data we’ve gathered in the planning process, and waterfall that into broker/dealer XYZ’s custom form.”
RetireUp also holds data on annuity products on an actuarial level, so it can make it easier to sell fixed indexed annuities, in a compliant way. The software has the ability to filter through annuities and build a model that complements the portfolio. It can also demonstrate what amount or ratio would fit the client; this, the company executives say, can address DOL concerns around ensuring the client’s best interest is being served.
“We already know technology exists today to be able to put a person into a model and execute trades on a very cost-effective basis,” Richards said. “The advisor has a declining value proposition in that situation. What we’re wanting to do is better position advisors and teach them how to become risk managers, much like in a private office. If the conversation is focused on retirement at all, we take a 360-degree view of risk, and our software is designed to navigate the advisor and client through that conversation.”