Cash flow planning is one of the most complex areas delivered by wealth managers. The number of variables is almost infinite, and the amount of data that needs crunching is considerable. Having the tools to do that is one side of the equation. Having the means to display and explain the output in a way that the adviser can easily explain to the client is the other.

Expert cash flow planning tools have a high degree of complexity. They are designed to provide a well-founded basis for sophisticated multi-dimensional analyses and simulations. These tools often have a broad range of features and visualisations intended for in-depth and granular advice while remaining compliant with all contextual FCA regulations.

The complexity of common expert cash flow planning tools often exceeds the standard of a customer’s financial literacy. Expert cash flow planning tools are highly complex because they are designed to provide a well-founded basis for sophisticated multi-dimensional analyses and simulations. These tools often have a broad range of features and visualisations intended for granular and detailed advice, which also complies with all contextual FCA regulations. Naturally, these tools target trained financial experts with several years of experience. These expert cash flow planners often do not add substantial value for a customer without or with low financial literacy. Instead, the provided dashboard presentations and reports are too sophisticated and incomprehensible for an inexperienced client.

Indeed, the bottom line is that these kinds of tools do not contribute to developing a better sense of the impact of different events on the customer’s wealth. That is a shame because financial literacy and control are significant societal issues. The Money and Pensions Service found that 63% of UK adults report they do not feel they can determine what happens in their lives regarding money.

High-level cash flow planning
High-level cash flow planning tools are, in contrast to their expert counterparts, much more simplistic. They are designed to provide an easy-to-use experience that is easy to understand for everybody – no matter what level of expertise. But the downside is that high-level cash flow planners often have a limited set of features that only allow for basic insights and insubstantial advice. As a result, their calculations may be missing information or data due to significantly reduced simulation and calculation functions. The result is the risk of contextual quality gaps and an incomplete picture!

In addition, high-level cash flow planning solutions are not ideal when it comes to looking at things like specialised regulations, taxes, or inflation rates. So, despite being easy to use, they do not deliver much value, as they do not meet the client’s individual needs.

Indeed, the Money and Pensions Service found that 39% of UK adults lack confidence when managing their money. These results underline the market need for an alternative cash flow planning solution that combines the advantages of both types of tools while avoiding their disadvantages.

Advisers need alternative solutions that simplify these processes, hold data in one place, and present the results in a way that the adviser can easily explain and on a level appropriate for the client to understand.

A perfect solution should

• Allow for sophisticated, high-quality advice and planning.
• Automate time-intensive manual processes and increase efficiency. 
• Automatically be compliant with FCA regulations.
• Contribute to making clients feel more confident in handling their finances.
• Help clients to get a sense of how certain events could affect their wealth.
• Be capable of exchanging data with other solutions.

Key to a good system is its ability to integrate with other solutions so that the cash flow planning solution can bring in data and additional information from elsewhere without undue friction. The idea is to create accurate financial customer data aggregated in one source-of-truth platform. This is beneficial to clients, but leveraging technology to provide this service makes the adviser’s life so much easier. It also frees up time to better service the client resulting in a better relationship and opportunity to broaden the conversation to increase other areas - improving the share of the wallet through cross-selling.

aixigo’s Cash Flow Planner provides the evidence. It allows cash flow planning to be embedded into any service. On top of that, it redefines cash flow planning by striking the perfect balance between complexity and simplicity. __Fully compliant with UK regulations, aixigo’s Cash Flow Planner offers a superior user experience and is easy to use right from the start. Thanks to the API-first approach, it allows for easy and quick integration into existing and prospective services and infrastructures. In addition, by being part of the aixigo:BLOXX Wealth Management Platform, the range of capabilities can be easily extended by other aixigo:BLOXX modules to provide all functionalities for professional investment advice and wealth management.