Scottish Widows Platform partners with Origo for first phase of new asset transfer service

We are pleased to announce a partnership with Scottish Widows Platform, as we enter a live Beta stage of our new Origo Asset Migration service (OAM), to transform the experience of bulk advised client transfers for both advisers and platforms into a smooth and quick process.

Removing issues always associated with bulk transfer opportunities

Issues with client data are one of the biggest challenges adviser firms face with the movement of clients from one platform to another.

Our new service facilitates the gathering, cleansing, and updating of client information in a controlled and auditable system, accessible by both the advice business and the platform. This ability to cleanse and hold data pre-transfer submission removes the risk of inaccurate data underpinning any transfer attempt and ensures the best chance of quick and smooth transfers.

Integrations with other existing services include Origo Integration Hub’s Account Opening process, streamlining the process further by eliminating the need for manual data entry by advisers. OAM also acts as a project management tool during bulk transfer exercises, integrating with the Origo Transfer Service to show the real-time status of all transfers in progress and thus providing much greater visibility into the whole migration journey and ensuring the timely resolution of any issues that arise.

Creating an important industry-wide service

This news represents the culmination of a project which began in early 2024, with development commencing in October 2024. Crucially, this is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution covering the whole process, not simply a piece of consultancy work.

Scottish Widows Platform is the beta partner for our new software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution. During this live Beta phase, OAM will initiate the live transfers of advised client assets to Scottish Widows Platform. Concurrently, we plan to work together with several advice firms key to Scottish Widows Platform to gather feedback and help steer the ongoing development of the service.

The OAM service covers the entire client level transfer process, starting from initial client and policy data gathering, transfer tranche creation, client engagement regarding suitability, illustrations and authority, all the way through to account opening and the initiation of transfers. OAM also tracks individual transfers in real time whilst providing an aggregate tranche view, ensuring a smooth and clear road map throughout.

Whilst any transfer project is managed in aggregate, each client’s journey is individual, and advice firms can submit transfer instructions at their own pace. OAM provides advice firms with detailed audit logs during and after transfer initiation.

Finally (and relatedly) OAM represents the creation of a more broadly important industry-wide service. Making the bulk transfer of clients easier should remove the bias of convenience from selecting the right platforms for clients.

Tom Mullally, Chief Product Officer, Origo, comments:

“Until now, the advised movement of tranches of clients to new Platforms was known for being a manual, spreadsheet-heavy, error-strewn experience, renowned throughout the industry as being painful for the customers, advisers and platforms involved.

“Particular issues such as poor-quality data stored in multiple places can cause the whole migration process to fail unless these are addressed head-on - which is exactly what we're doing.

“A transfer recommendation is often the first interaction an adviser and their clients will have with a new platform, and we want to make sure their experience is a really good one. Together with Scottish Widows Platform, we are making this possible and hope that others in the industry will join us – we want advisers and customers everywhere to feel the benefit of this important change.”

Ross Easton, Head of Adviser Platform Proposition, Scottish Widows, comments:

“At Scottish Widows, we are committed to supporting advisers and their clients, both now and in the future. Our focus is on enhancing our platform proposition to make it easier for advisers to deliver great outcomes for their clients and grow their business.”

“One of the biggest challenges advisers face is the movement of clients between platforms. We are thrilled to have worked with Origo to develop a solution that helps advisers de-risk their business, increase efficiency, and supports them to deliver great client outcomes.”

As published on: https://www.moneymarketing.co....