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PPS FINANCIAL PLANNING
Our financial planning division plays an increasingly vital role as
PPS adds new products and services to its portfolio of offerings.
We advise PPS members on how to select and integrate our
offerings to best reach their financial goals.
PPS Financial Planning has gained certain key insights regarding
client planning needs:
• Our members are willing to pay for financial planning
services as they would for an attorney or accountant.
• They have moved beyond simply requiring assistance with
products. Members require advisors who can optimise their
portfolios and provide related services such as drawing up
budgets.
• Financial planning solutions must be tailored to individuals
and their specific needs.
We have separated payment for financial planning from
product commissions, to ensure that members are not talked
into purchasing products they may not need. PPS Financial
Planning bills fairly for drawing up the plan, which the member
can implement through PPS or elsewhere.
All PPS financial advisors are post-graduate professionals,
with most being qualified attorneys or accountants. Almost all
PPS financial advisers have obtained, or are in the process of
obtaining, their Certified Financial Planner (CFP) qualification.
What we do
Our services are:
• Financial advice and planning as a separate service from
product sales
• Individualised financial plans that may, or may not, include
PPS products and can be implemented by PPS or any service
provider the member chooses
• Fast and efficient implementation of member decisions.
The mid-2017 launch of our fiduciary services unit introduced
estate planning and the drafting of wills, trusts, and safe
custody to our portfolio. PPS is currently developing apps that
will enable our members to easily implement their financial
planning.
Performance
In South Africa, PPS is leading the way in providing financial
services, advice, and support to independent financial advisors
(IFAs). Many IFAs lack expertise in specific disciplines such
as estate planning. Getting IFAs to plug into PPS expertise
enables them to assist their clients in aspects where they lack
knowledge. PPS does not charge IFAs for this advice, which is
building up the support and respect of the IFA community.
Key performance indicators for PPS Financial Planning are:
• The number of members taking up plans
• The average amount charged per plan
• How many members we expose to additional PPS products
and services.
Prospects
PPS is presently developing interactive digital apps for our
members by moving financial planning online for those who
prefer digital engagement. Proprietary video conferencing
through smartphones or computers will enable members
to interact with PPS financial advisors remotely and at times
they decide.
The financial advisory community is facing severe challenges
from technology, changing expectations from the younger
generation, and incoming legislation that will have a
major impact.
Government’s implementation of the Treating Customers
Fairly (TCF) initiative and the long-planned Retail Distribution
Review (RDR) will, in our opinion, benefit consumers and
greatly improve public trust in our industry.
We have identified what members and potential members
would want and are working hard to provide a more
individualised financial planning experience in a market that is
still overly complicated and product-oriented.
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