Midwinter ranked #1 according to Investment Trends

Midwinter #1 rated financial planning software in 2010

For the second consecutive year Midwinter Financial Advice Software has been rated first in overall satisfaction by financial planners in the Investment Trends 2010 Planner Technology Report.

“We are extremely pleased in being the number #1 rated financial planning software in the market in overall average satisfaction for the second consecutive year as voted by financial advisers. Our focus on a specialist, best-of-breed approach and our responsiveness to the demands from our financial adviser clients is obviously paying off.” – Julian Plummer, Midwinter’s Managing Director

Midwinter also had the highest average user ratings on a staggering 21 out of 25 service elements, including the major categories – overall usefulness; value for money; ease of use; speed; stability; production of plans with complex requirements; production of simple plans; constructing portfolios; scenario modelling; and tax planning.

“It is unusual to see a service provider figure so strongly across all service elements covered in an Investment Trends Report. Financial advisers are always the best judge of what is best for their practice, and as such this is the metric on which we want to be tested.”- Andrew McClelland – Executive Director, Financial Planning

Midwinter’s renowned research and compliance capabilities were also rewarded with Midwinter taking out all research and compliance categories – data accuracy; risk research; debt research; helping select investments to recommend; capturing fact find information; compliance reporting and integration with platforms.

Midwinter’s specific focus on enhancing adviser support and training in 2010 translated into higher adviser satisfaction with Midwinter also taking out the major training and support service elements – quality of training for software; support by software vendor; customisability; and software documentation.

With the new adviser remuneration regime and the continued affect on reduced revenue from the market downturn, the cost of providing advice has become even more crucial for financial planners. The Report found that those using Midwinter had the lowest cost of providing full advice to the practice. In fact, the cost to the practice of providing full advice to a typical client (including overheads) for Midwinter users was 17% – 33% less than those of all other competitors surveyed. The cost to the practice using Midwinter was estimated to be $2,000 while the cost to the practice using other software ranged between $2,400 and $3,000.

“We have also felt that the Investment Trends Planner Technology Report has provided good insight into the financial planning software market and looking at the way Investment Trends breaks down the impact and costs on practices, it provides dealer groups with the ability to make more informed decisions.” – James Murphy – Executive Director, Research and Compliance

Importantly, Midwinter’s best feature according to financial planners was “ease of use” while financial planners nominated the worst feature of all other software vendors surveyed as “complex to use”. Midwinter’s worst feature was regarded as CRM – Midwinter’s new Client Manager had not been released generally at the time the report was compiled (October 2010).

For more information on Midwinter’s highly regarded financial planning software please contact Peter Burns – Head of Distribution (1300 882 938).