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FT Adviser (14/10/2010)

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PRESS RELEASE (10/05/2006)

SCREEN BUSINESS LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE CLIENT VALUATION SERVICE WITH 1ST SOFTWARE’S ADVISER OFFICE

Screen Business, builder of online solutions for IFAs, and 1st, provider of the UK’s leading IFA client management system, announce the launch of a new service for IFAs which enables the creation of fully branded, customised and interactive client valuation reports on their websites.

This will enable IFAs to fully exploit the Internet as a channel for servicing clients. Screen Business’ approach means that IFAs can dramatically improve client service and reduce the costs of providing a quality, secure, up-to-date and personalised reporting facility.

The key elements of the Screen Business offering include:

• Integrated with client and investment information from 1st Software’s Adviser Office, to enable online client valuations, broken down by plan category and displaying fund information and graphical asset allocation analysis;
• Fully customised to reflect the IFA’s brand and layout preference;
• Extensible to offer additional online interactive capabilities such as fund performance tracking, historic charting comparisons, fund factsheets, portfolio and risk analysis, etc.

Mik Cons, Managing Director, 1st, comments;
“Increasingly sophisticated private clients will demand greater access to their data on a real-time basis. We have been working hard to ensure that our clients can aggregate data electronically on demand to provide valuation and reporting functionality online to their clients 24/7. Together with Screen Business, formerly part of Screen Pages, we were amongst the first technology firms to enable online reporting to clients and this new customised online reporting facility takes this ability to the next level.

We are very impressed with the work Screen Business have been doing and believe that online client servicing will be a fundamental channel of support required by every professional adviser firm in the future. I would encourage all our users to take a look at this new service from Screen Business.”

1st’s ‘Adviser Office’ software,  provides a client management solution to over 1,400 firms offering financial advice including Tied, Multi-tied and Independent Financial Advisers and Wealth Managers.  1st technology links with over 60 partners, including product providers, portals and fund supermarkets to aggregate client data and avoid re-keying.  Recently acquired by Vertex Financial Services, 1st have combined with The Exchange (portal) to create the first truly straight through processing capability for advisers, regardless of the size of their business.

James Whelan, Managing Director at Screen Business commented: “It is a pleasure to be working with 1st and proactive IFAs, as they continually take great steps forward in extending and sharing technology for the benefit of improving online servicing for clients”.

Ends

Journalists, for further details, please contact:

• James Whelan, Screen Business Limited. Tel: 01252 706881 
• Elizabeth Williams, Marketing Manager 1st    01926 621409

Notes to Editors

About Screen Business
Since 1997, the team at Screen Business Limited has been integrating branded sites with data from product providers, wrap services and back office systems. The company is a leading provider of bespoke website design and internet software for IFAs, and is continually pushing technology for the benefit of customer-facing IFA websites.

Screen Business has won many awards for its sites, which automate key client servicing and administration business processes. Over 150 financial services web sites have been developed for many of the UK’s largest IFAs, such as Origen, Torquil Clark and JS&P, with projects also being done for firms such as JP Morgan, Prudential and Legal & General.

46 companies are currently linked or integrated with Adviser Office:
4th Contact, 7IM, Abbey, Assureweb, AXA Sun Life, Clerical Medical, Cofunds, CREST (via Lawshare),, Fidelity Fundsnetwork, Financial Express, Friends Provident, FT Interactive, Legal & General, Lipper and Micropal, Microsoft Office, Morgan Stanley Quilter, Morning Star, Mortgage 2000, Mortgage Brain, Norwich Union, O&M Pensions Provider, Paymentshield, Pershings, Prudential, Pulse, Scottish Equitable, Scottish Life, Scottish Mutual, Scottish Widows, Selestia, SIPP Centre, Skandia, Staffcare, Standard Life, Synaptics, Telephony, The Exchange, The Silent Partner, Tillinghast Towers-Perrin, TMO, Tokairo, Transact, Trigold, Webfund (Internet Portfolios), Webline

1st – A Vertex company
1st was launched in 1996 to develop and market software systems for the financial adviser and intermediary community. The company has won national recognition in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100, Sunday Times ARM Tech Track 100, Deloitte & Touche IT Fast 50 and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

1st already has over 11,000 adviser users across the UK, ranging from national brokers to sole traders.  The Adviser Office range has been developed out of 1st’s years of experience in providing the leading client management system and associated products and services for the financial adviser and mortgage intermediary market.

About Vertex
Vertex, a subsidiary of United Utilities plc, is a leading international provider of business process outsourcing and technology services and is one of the UK’s major customer management service suppliers.  The company develops and implements a range of outsourcing solutions for many leading organisations based on a diversified portfolio of long-term contracts across private enterprise, financial services, utility, central and local government sectors. 
 
It has nearly 10,000 employees in 70 locations across 8 countries.
 
Its clients include Alliance & Leicester, Bank of Scotland, CIBC, Egg, Lastminute.com, Legal & General, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society, Marks and Spencer, Royal London, Sun Life Financial of Canada (UK), Tesco, Thurrock Unitary Council, UPS and Westminster City Council.