Anthony Rafferty: Adviser tech fixes make processes fit for purpose in 2026

Anthony Rafferty says long-standing adviser headaches are finally fading as technology evolves...

There will be far fewer sore heads after all the new year celebrations and not because of a lack of parties and gatherings to welcome in 2026.

A look back over 2025 and to the year ahead reveals that some of the biggest headaches caused by outdated technology and old industry processes are finally starting to fade or even disappear altogether for advisers, providers and clients.

If that doesn't bring you some cheer to start the new year then you'll be pleased to hear that this 2025 tech roundup is not going to be all about artificial intelligence (AI).

After all, there are more than enough news and views already on this particular subject. Instead, I'll simply say that a lot of recent tech changes to fix outdated processes and make data fit for purpose in 2026 will act as a catalyst for more AI usage across our sector. Even the most traditional firms in the industry are now embracing AI and we expect to see some exciting changes happening in the coming year.

LoAs now taking days not months

Letters of Authority (LoA) have been a long-standing, headache-strewn process for advisers and clients but things have really started to change in 2025. Instead of trying to work within the confines of traditional, outdated LoA processes, the arrival of fully digitised LoA solutions has transformed the experience by giving advisers a one-stop shop for processing all their LoA requests.

Up until recently, an adviser would have to give new clients numerous LoAs to sign (in my own experience, it was ten), all to be sent out by post. Unsurprising, then, LoA turnarounds could take anything from weeks to months.

Thankfully, advisers are now reporting that this technology has reduced LoA turnaround times to as little as two days. Demand is clear, with our own Unipass LoA service recently reaching an all-time high of 20,000 LoA requests from advisers.

Some providers have already taken the lead by creating deep integrations with digital LoA solutions and we'll see more of this from really big provider names in 2026.

Work to be done

As we look ahead, there is still work to be done. There are still providers using consumer protection as a reason for holding onto seriously antiquated LoA processes. While consumer protections are a key part of ‘avoiding foreseeable harm' under Consumer Duty, the same regulation also takes a very clear stance on sludge practices.

If we're serious as an industry about eradicating bad LoA experiences, then those that are lagging must quickly catch up.

Changing the track on transfers

Pension transfer times – once a major bugbear for advisers – have continued on a very positive trajectory in 2025. The most recent data from the Q3 2025 Origo Transfer Index, which includes most of the big pension industry players, shows simple transfers took just 10.7 days to complete on average.

Some individual transfers will be more complex and rightly need more time and attention. But unnecessary delays and processes now only happen amongst a handful of outlier companies still sticking rigidly to outdated transfer processes.

The continuous improvement we've seen in turnaround times throughout 2025, despite rises in both transfer volumes and values, reflects the overall health of pension transfers and puts the sector in a really strong position for 2026. And as long as there are consumers and advisers still experiencing unnecessarily slow or error-strewn transfers, we'll keep putting pressure on the remaining few providers to get up to speed with the rest of the industry.

Recent progress around the transparency and communication of transfers means it's now possible for advisers to access real-time information on how transfers are progressing, all in one place, helping clients stay informed and reassured. It's like ordering through Deliveroo - easily checking how your order is progressing and the time it'll take to reach you. In the case of pension transfers, this means advisers will have to spend significantly less time stuck on the phone chasing up information and timescales for transfers.

What's next?

Our sector has been around for a long time, during which it has had to navigate a lot of change and complexity, so there will always be areas of technology and industry pipework needing improvement.

With that in mind, continuing on our radar from 2025 into next year are advised bulk asset migrations between platforms. More often than not, bulk asset migrations of this kind are a manual, spreadsheet-heavy, error-prone experience that's pretty painful for everyone involved.

Here at Origo, we've made it our mission to tackle the issues within bulk asset migrations head-on by solving common data issues and streamlining the whole migration journey between platforms, advisers and clients.

Faster, simpler, scalable migrations stimulate healthy competition in the platform sector by enabling platforms to carry out more migrations and attract more assets as a result. And, crucially, if assets are able to flow smoothly between platforms then advisers can remain focused on choosing the platform proposition that is best for their clients.

With new benchmarks achieved for pension transfers and LoAs, a big focus for us in 2026 will be taking the pain out of bulk asset migrations across financial services.

A toast then, to continuing working together and becoming better connected as an industry so we can all have a clearer head in 2026.

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