Intermediaries / Brokers

Can brokers use robo-advice to their advantage?

It seems every year there's a new development that threatens to make traditional financial advisers and insurance brokers obsolete. In the past few years it was the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI). So far, none have disrupted what some refer to as the 'dinosaur' of the traditional insurance industry. But a new foe has emerged in the form of robo-advice: automated algorithms and digital techniques to give consumers the advice and products they need sans advisor.

Are your clients’ income properly protected?

Searching for growth opportunities

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything - George Bernard Shaw. While we can never describe the financial services industry as anything but a dynamic industry, the level of change the South African financial services industry has experienced over the past two years has been significant, and this looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.

How to ensure broker practice viability in a post-RDR world

A well-defined value proposition is a critical success factor for independent brokers in a post-RDR world, as is an effective business model to ensure consistent delivery of the value proposition to a chosen client segment. A further crucial consideration concerns the financial viability of the broker practice. Jacques Coetzer, general manager of Sanlam Broker Distribution, says there are four main questions brokers need to ask when assessing their potential future financial success: