Outsourced guys - what research tools do you use?
Caro
Member
Hi all
Just a quick question, if you guys offer product research as part of your service, what tools do you use?
Ta muchly!
Caro 😊
Comments
I'm hoping to be able to use the advisers' own research tools. There are 2 reasons for this: 1. it saves me money on research costs, and 2 any reports use the adviser company's own branding, so as far as the client is concerned it's a seamless process.
Actually, there is a 3rd - if any more research or similar needs to be done in future, the adviser has the previous information stored on their systems and available to them.
I may need to bite the bullet at some point and subscribe to various bits of software but by the same token I will look to save on costs where possible.
I know other outsourced paraplanners have subscriptions to the likes of Selectapension and FE, etc but it is not something I can justify doing yet as I need to generate some income first!!
For what it's worth there are all sorts of issues here and the adviser is likely to be in breach of the software provider's terms and conditions if they share their login details with you. To overcome the issues you highlight, and being purest about it for a mo', you should really have your own license under the adviser's account.
Good points by @edevan5 It depends on their licence agreement. If you're using it in your capacity as fulfilling a contract exclusively for the adviser then it should be OK. Need to check though. One other thing to look out for, once you tell a software company you are outsourced they will normally then tell you about their 'special' licence for you. This allows you to use the software and outputs for other advisers. It normally costs more but that's fair enough.
Tools we use direct under our own licences:
Those are the main ones.
Paraplanner. F1, Apple, Nutella, ice cream. No trite motivational quotes. Turning a bit northern.
Same
Thanks everyone, that's v helpful!