Jason Harwood explains how Lifewealth Group’s technology strategy reflects its business strategy, which includes partnering with a software provider to streamline its FOFA compliance requirements.

What do you do if you can’t find the right type of software to fully manage your internal FOFA compliance requirements? Well, you either develop itself yourself or team up with a specialist software partner to provide the right fintech solution for your business.

And that’s exactly what Lifewealth Group did last year, partnering with technology specialist, Dexterous Pro, to roll out a fintech solution called Ontoma.

“The objectives behind partnering with Dexterous was to use Ontoma to make compliance management simpler for our business, while also supporting improved communication and access to information for clients in real time and with greater transparency,” says Lifewealth Group CEO, Jason Harwood.

Established in 1997, Lifewealth Group is an integrated business consisting of four seperate divisions – financial planning, accounting, business advisory and digital. However, what sets Lifewealth apart from other similar mid-sized businesses, is its approach to the delivery of services, with the Melbourne-based business increasingly turning to technology as a means of staying focused on the client relationship. It’s an approach to business that Jason believes is a real point-of-difference for Lifewealth.

“The regulatory pressures and challenges facing businesses within our industry, particularly over the last five years and into the foreseeable future, is tough. Business costs are increasing, which is putting pressure on client-facing time. With all these pressures within a business, the first thing that often suffers is the time we spend with our clients,” Jason says.

However, for Lifewealth, it’s bucking this trend by using technology to ensure it doesn’t dilute its value-add and the overall client experience. In fact, Lifewealth is so serious about technology that this Lonsdale Innovation Practice of the Year has developed its own ‘digital division’ within the business, where it assists clients and other businesses with their practice management solutions.

Let’s get integrated

But to understand Lifewealth’s digital transformation, you need to go back five years.

Back then, when Jason first joined Lifewealth, he discovered that each part of the business – accounting, financial planning and business advisory – was using its own specific software, making it difficult to consolidate the different parts of the business.

“We didn’t have a single source of truth for the business, and that was a real problem,” he says. “We didn’t have any integrated system around workflows, pipeline management, CRM, document management and storage.

“So, we wanted to improve our operating efficiency and drive down costs, while still being able to spend quality time with our clients.”

This led Jason to scour the market for a best-of-breed technology solution that would enable the business to work more efficiently. It was a search that led to software provider, Dexterous Pro.

“About 3.5 years ago, we established a relationship with Dexterous. We were able to work with the company to create a solution for our business by using their technology, which has ultimately helped us to drive our efficiencies and better manage our FOFA obligations.”

This solution was Ontoma, a module of the Dexterous practice management platform that covers compliance, file noting, centralised document storage, document management, client portals, a mobile app and more. According to Jason, this fintech solution does everything, “other than tax returns and writing the financial plans”.

Ontoma has been designed with automated workflows to help meet compliance requirements, minimise human error, while driving efficiency and establishing best practice frameworks. By doing so, it enables licensees, dealer groups, individual practices and financial planners to manage their fee disclosure statement (FDS) obligations, such as the issuing of the FDS and opt-ins, through this software.

Ontoma can be used as a standalone practice management solution or integrated with the Dexterous framework, allowing the full Dexterous/Ontoma fintech suite to drive a fully integrated technology solution for businesses, while also integrating with existing advice technology platforms, like Xplan.

Ontoma’s security and data is maintained onshore with Dexterous Pro, which is separately quarantined from other businesses on its server.

“Dexterous’ firewalls and encryptions are very strong. If we wanted to, we could lock down Ontoma to just our office, so no one could access the software unless they were in the office. We have at least two factor authentication and there is ‘brute force’ lockout. We’re really comfortable with the level of security Dexterous has in place,” Jason says.

The right partner

Jason admits that finding the right technology partner that can deliver the types of fintech solutions a business is looking for, while being able to proactively work with that provider, is not easy. It not only requires the standard due diligence checks, including research and reference checking, but it also requires a business to be clear and uncompromising in what it wants from its technology provider.

“From the outset, we were clear in what we wanted,” he says. “We started with the outcomes we wanted for our team and clients, and we just kept talking about those outcomes and how we envisaged they would look like. We continued to have conversations until we found a provider that we felt comfortable with, and a provider that was able to answer those questions with confidence.

“I also wanted to make sure we weren’t stuck in a technology ecosystem that we couldn’t get out of. I wanted our software to be nimble and able to connect into any new technology system that might come to market.”

Another important criteria for Jason in choosing a technology partner is establishing a respectful relationship, which for him, is based on knowing you are in this together for the long-term.

“This is all about how we see the partnership evolving and how the values of both businesses align, because I want Lifewealth to enter into dynamic partnerships that will continue 10 years from now. And we don’t mind paying extra for that long-term relationship, as long as we’re able to grow together as businesses.”

Key learnings

Jason concedes there are always learnings and teething issues that come from rolling our new technology, and it’s been the same with Ontoma. One of his key learnings has actually been about the flexibility of the software itself.

“Whatever your problem is, this software can largely solve it,” Jason says. “However, the downside of this flexibility is that because this software is so good at solving most of your problems from a business perspective, you can actually end up recreating the same processes you have today that are a problem for you.

“For example, every time we had a workshop about the software, team members would ask Dexterous: ‘Can the software do X, or Y or Z?’ Dexterous would respond yes to all the questions. This meant we ended up with a digital, accessible and agile version of the processes we were running on spreadsheets previously.

“But it got me thinking. Just because we’ve done that in the past, doesn’t mean we have to do it that way in the future. So, that’s something we are constantly mindful of. Can we do things better by doing them differently?,” Jason says.

“So, instead of adding new elements and functionality to this software, we’re probably stripping away more than we’re adding. It’s about being clear on your objectives and outcomes. You need to drill down and be clear about the outcome you are trying to achieve, and scoping everything out that isn’t part of that outcome.”

And a key part of being clear on the business outcome is having good communication with your technology partner. “Just like any supplier of partnership, it’s about constantly working on your communication to make sure it flows both ways.”

Don’t be afraid to innovate

Jason believes the development and use of technology within Lifewealth is a real point-of-difference for the business, and it views technology so seriously that it has developed its own digital division – Lifewealth Digital.

Lifewealth Digital had its genesis in 2019 to further enhance the firm’s digital consulting and practice management offering to both existing and new clients. This separate division of the Lifewealth Group provides web, software and app development, as well as branding and design, social media management, and email marketing.

“As a business, our mission is: Lifewealth exists to achieve peace of mind and happiness for its clients, people and communities, by understanding what matters most to them,” Jason explains. “That mission rolled into our vision, which is: To create positive change for our clients’ experience through our willingness to innovate.

“When clients find us, they find solutions that they tell their family and friends about. Lifewealth Digital is all about delivering positive digital change for our clients and not being afraid to innovate to deliver on that.”

Future innovation

As for the future of advice, Jason believes the profession is facing a challenge in delivering advice and services to consumers in a cost-effective way. He adds that unless the profession can find a way to reduce the costs around advice, then the clients who need advice the most, will be priced out of the market.

“That’s a real challenge for the profession, but I believe technology will be the key to driving down the cost of advice and providing greater efficiencies for advisory businesses.”

However, one of the obvious challenges around this is working out how to get emerging fintech solutions to seamlessly integrate with incumbent technologies, such as investment platforms, Xplan or Midwinter.

“For Ontoma, it’s all about the next iteration and technology integrations,” Jason says. “We’re now integrated with Xplan, and while that’s exciting for us, we still need to do a bit of work to make sure it’s a great solution for everyone, including Iress. We need to ensure we keep working with Dexterous to adapt Ontoma to all the regulatory changes as they occur.”

And what of any tips for businesses considering rolling out their own software or technology solution? Jason offers the following two tips.

* Technology has got be linked to your business strategy; and

* Technology has to be a part of driving the delivery of your business to its vision.

So, why do some digital transformation efforts succeed, while others fail?

It’s a good question, says Jason.

“Most digital technologies provide possibilities for efficiency gains and customer intimacy. But if a business lacks the right mindset to change and the current organisational practises are flawed, then digital transformation will simply magnify those flaws.

“So, as a starting point to succeed with any digital strategy or technology solution, you have to be very clear on those two tips outlined above. And then when looking at any technology, you need to ask yourself: Does it deliver on each of those three attributes? If it does, then you’re half way there.”

Product disclaimer: Please be advised that Ontoma is owned by Lifewealth Group. Money & Life has not endorsed the use of Ontoma. This article has been provided for educational purposes.

Jason Harwood is CEO of Lifewealth Group.