AT-RETIREMENT SOLUTIONS FOR PLATFORMS
Platform Challenges in 2013 & Beyond Platforms are facing an increasing number of challenges in 2013 and beyond. The number of Platform companies in the UK has increased from 7 in 2003 to over 30 companies in 2013. Competition has intensified rapidly in the past decade, in terms of both the service offering and value proposition. In 2011, the total aggregate revenue for the top 20 adviser Platforms was £710m, up from 330m in 2006. However, total expenses grew from £365m to £760m over the same period. This indicates the net £35m loss incurred in 2006 has increased to a net £50m loss in 2011. The challenges associated with the increase in competition combined with an increase in costs already experienced will be further compounded by the population demographics.
The UK faces the retirement of the baby boom generation. This generation has enjoyed the wealth which enabled them to invest in products provided by Platforms, both Supermarkets and Wraps. In many instances, this has driven sales away from the traditional Life and Pension product providers. Over the years, consumers have accumulated increased wealth, which has contributed to the success of the Platform market. As this generation enters retirement, assets are being moved from Platforms into “at-retirement” decumulation products, provided by at-retirement solution providers. This will cause momentous asset drain for the Platforms, potentially forcing consolidation within the industry and endangering the future of several Platforms completely.
As the baby boomers enter retirement, assets are being moved from Platforms into “at-retirement” decumulation products, provided by at-retirement solution providers.
Platforms face losing billions of pounds of Assets Under Administration (AUA) due to not being able to service the retirement income sector sufficiently. Platforms’ current focus lies in managing the accumulation phase of the investment journey and their expertise in building and maintaining relationships with their customers. This expertise can also be used to retain the assets for a longer period of time by maintaining the relationship through the “at-retirement” phase.
Platforms that survive will be the companies that can quickly adapt to the changing market demands. They will offer new products and services to different segments for different life events, presenting a flexible proposition reflecting customer demand. Exaxe can facilitate the retention of assets under administration by enabling Platforms to offer at-retirement products to their existing client base, thus increasing revenue and profitability.
The Solution The pension annuity market has quadrupled in the past 15 years due to the sustained growth of the UK’s population aged 65+. Subsequently, the UK’s rapidly ageing population makes it the largest annuity market in Europe. It is time for Platforms to take advantage of this and differentiate themselves in a competitive market. To move into the at-retirement space, and thus retain the assets, two key capabilities are necessary: 1. An ability to maintain a relationship with clients and/or advisers 2. An ability to engage with clients and/or advisers through different life-stage events. Platforms already have these capabilities and are uniquely placed to assist clients, providing them with a single view of both accumulation and decumulation. Platforms have two options available to them in order to offer their clients on-platform at-retirement solutions. 1. Platforms can create their own at-retirement investment style products and administer them internally 2. Platforms can create their own at-retirement investment style products and outsource the administration Exaxe offers speed to market and efficiency of integration combined with expertise to deliver each of these options in very short timescale. Exaxe is a specialist at-retirement solution provider with experience and extensive knowledge that allows its clients to launch new products faster, administer post retirement products more efficiently, and respond with greater flexibility to the marketplace. Exaxe can offer the full end-to-end at-retirement solution via its flagship products Illustrate Plus and Income Plus. In addition Exaxe can offer full administration via our outsource partner Equiniti Paymaster. Equiniti Paymaster has 175 years of annuity payment experience and has a proven track record in large scale third party administration. This is combined with Exaxe’s state of the art annuity quotation and administration solution, along with its expert skill set and knowledge of the industry. Exaxe have template at-retirement investment style products which can be configured to the Platform’s needs and to the markets’ needs. Exaxe’ offering will integrate into the Platforms existing processes and systems. ‘Plug and Play’ integration allows Platforms to easily make at-retirement style products available on their current Platform.
Why offer ‘At-Retirement’ Solutions? • Prevents assets leaving platforms to go to life companies
• The pension annuity market is forecast to be £23bn p.a. by 2014-2015
• 500,000 converting from pension accumulation to decumulation p.a.
• The UK is the largest annuity market in Europe
• Pension annuity market has quadrupled in past 15 years
• Growing demand for at-retirement investment style products
• 2010 At-retirement market = £18bn new business premium p.a.
• Ageing demographics
UK Age Demographic
0-19 20-29 30-44 45-54 55-64 65+
7.4 million 11.8%
8.5 million
12.7 million
10.3 million
16.6%
13.7%
23.7%
20.4%
Total UK Population in 2011 = 62.3 million
13.7%
14.8 million
8.6 million
Who is Exaxe? Established in 1997, Exaxe is a specialist solution provider that helps life and pensions companies launch new products faster, administer post retirement products more efficiently and respond with greater flexibility to the marketplace. With headquarters in Ireland and offices in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, we provide leading edge; front, middle and back office solutions specifically for life, pensions and wealth management sectors. Exaxe’s component based solutions more effectively manage product development, channel distribution and full policy administration. Exaxe solutions are in use in a wide range of client organisations throughout Europe. Exaxe helps companies, such as MGM Advantage, Interamerican, Capita, Scottish Mutual, Eureko Group, Scottish Widows and Equiniti Paymaster.
Why Choose Exaxe? When Exaxe engages with a client, we ensure that they do not just receive a new software solution, but that they also benefit from our in-depth industry knowledge and experience. Exaxe provides our platform clients with: Speed to Market
Exaxe’s technology allows for unparalleled speed to market. This allows Platforms to easily launch “At-Retirement” style products available on their current Platform.
Full At-Retirement Solution
Exaxe assists Platforms to retain and increase Assets Under Administration (AUA) for an increased duration. Exaxe systems enables Platforms to access the at-retirement market.
People & Expertise
Exaxe provides an excellent team of Platform specialists to their clients. These are led by: Ralph Tucker - UK Sales Director Ralph is UK Sales Director at Exaxe and is responsible for developing go-to-market and sales strategies, creating new business opportunities and providing greater support for existing clients in the UK. Ralph has over 18 years’ industry experience which he gained in the financial services, BPO and technology vendor industries. Ralph joined Exaxe from Mastek UK where he worked as Business Development Director and was responsible for setting the product and sales strategy. Stewart Reeder - Client Director Stewart joined Exaxe 12 years ago as Information Systems Manager and since then has grown with the company fulfilling several project and account management roles. His current role as Client Director is to engage with senior management, in new and existing accounts, and to provide an unrivalled results-based service to our clients. Stewart holds a Bachelor of Science Information Technology (BSc Hons IT) and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
PLUG THE LEAK! Call Stewart today on +44 (0) 7825198752 to find out how Exaxe can transform your business!
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