Tech Review: 7IM

This week Mark Loosmore of AT8 Group looks at the evolution of 7IM’s platform, which uses an open architecture approach to provide greater independence.

In 2001, seven senior investment executives came together to form a new investment management company called 7IM.

The aim was to bring investment, marketing, technology and client service expertise together, in a single company delivering the scale efficiencies that institutional investors are able to obtain and passing these down to the private investor.

The original seven all remain in the business and have now been joined by 99 additional staff and currently manage more than £3bn in assets under administration (AUA).

In 2002, 7IM launched a platform to help its IFA client partners service their clients more effectively. The platform is clearly aimed at IFAs at the top end of the market and has built up a strong reputation in the market.

It is now headed up by Peter Wyatt who joined last month from Macquarie, having also been at James Hay. The hiring of a specialist industry expert to head up the team, demonstrates continued commitment to the platform as a core part of 7IM's strategy.

Open architecture

Interestingly, most of the wrappers on the platform are not created by 7IM themselves. It takes an open architecture approach in allowing other providers to add their wrappers, helping to create more independence. In the case of SIPPs and bonds, for example, 7IM does not provide a wrapper at all but it does give access to a long list of other product providers instead.

The platform is well constructed and the processes are easy to follow with the look and feel being modern and professional. Created in-house, it has a differentiated appeal to other platforms on the market, but that will no doubt come at a cost both financially and in the speed to market of any new functionality.

At the time of writing, while the functionality is narrower than in some platforms, the key elements are all there. The quotation, buy and sell processes are easy to follow and switching capability, lacking from the platform until now, is just being released.

If the transaction capability is the single most important function of a platform, the reporting and analysis of a client's own assets capability are not far behind. This is particularly true of the high net worth market that 7IM serves. The reports produced by 7IM to date have been well presented but lacked some flexibility and were received too late. These issues have been recognised by the 7IM team and it has now made changes to its client report packs. The main amendments are:

• The adviser can select the reporting period(s)
• The adviser can select the portfolios to be included
• Asset allocation
• Colour pie charts as well as numeric allocations
• Unique 7IM override to get rid of ‘other' classification from data providers
• GIPS compliant performance measurement for the individual client (not a model portfolio)
• Portfolio volatility calculation
• Comparative indices for performance and volatility
• Graphs of performance and volatility of the portfolio(s) v comparative indices
• Plus normal transaction histories and valuations

The reports are now live in 7IM's discretionary service, and will be launched to platform users in the next few months.

Strong relationships

To gain further insight into the platform I spoke to Roger Weeks, director at Jacksons Financial Services based in Cornwall, which has been using the 7IM platform for five years.

Jacksons was founded in 1974 as an offshoot of Jacksons Insurances, which was itself founded in Penzance in 1923. It counts many big name Cornish businesses as clients and, in many cases, helps these businesses with their corporate affairs as well as assisting the proprietors and directors with their personal finances.

Jacksons has a white labeled version of the 7IM solution, called the Jackson platform, and its advisers and clients both now access the service.

Weeks is keen to stress the strength of relationship with 7IM as an important factor to Jacksons. He says 7IM is responsive to his firm's needs and listens to requests for new functionality. Because of its open architecture approach, the 7IM platform has also shown it is willing to add funds should Jacksons require any that are not currently available.

The appeal of 7IM also goes beyond its platform for Jacksons, which also uses it for discretionary management. In most instances, the Jacksons' adviser will perform the attitude to risk process and, after consultation and discussion with the client, they then match the risk to a model portfolio supplied by 7IM.

Weeks sees the 7IM platform as reliable and effective - fulfilling 7IM's promise. The functions it delivers are well executed and he feels it needs little more in terms of additional functionality.

There are more comprehensive solutions on the market but few that are better executed in what they have chosen to do. Clients of 7IM I have spoken to over the past few months are generally happy with the service they obtain and the quality of the system. When the platform is combined with 7IM's discretionary management services, the combined proposition is compelling.