The future of cash savings: Why you should put cash at the heart of your advice process

Every client holds cash.

But they don’t always tell their financial adviser how much. Besides, you probably have much better things to do for your clients than chase slightly better cash savings rates.

The good news is, recent advances in technology have made it remarkably simple to enhance clients’ returns by helping them manage their cash savings. Using a cash management service is an easy way to add value to your service. And it’s a great starting point for talking about more complex or higher risk investment products.

An easy win

Most clients feel they could (and probably should) be making their cash work harder. But they often:

• Feel powerless and frustrated by low interest rates.
• Lack awareness about the way savings rates can change after they open an account.
• Do not feel confident about shopping around and switching to a better deal.
• Feel it’s just too much hassle.

But what if you could take all the hassle away from them?

Now you can. And if you use a cash management service, it’s also minimal hassle for you as the adviser.

Cash management: how it works

A cash management service allocates your client’s money to one or more banks that offer a competitive savings rate. Often this can be higher than the best rates on offer from the big high street banks.

Clients choose how long they want to deposit for. Once the term is up, the cash management service finds another competitive rate.

As an adviser, you can set this up for clients using one simple online form. You don’t have to open multiple accounts at lots of different banks.

See how much more you could help your clients make

Helping clients manage their cash allows you to offer a truly holistic service. It’s also a great way to show clients how they can benefit from your expertise, by getting them a savings rate better than they’ll find on the high street.

To see the kind of savings rates we mean, you can fill in a client illustration at octopuscash.com/adviser.

Don’t underestimate this opportunity

An FCA study published in 2015 found that there was more than £703 billion stashed away in UK savings products in 2013. Of this, £145 billion was held in fixed-term accounts¹. As a comparison, the total amount paid into stocks and shares ISAs in 2016-17 was £22.33 billion².

So this is a big opportunity. And by advising clients on their cash, you can make the most of it without unduly adding to your workload. Plus you may end up with a better idea of their overall position, making this a good starting point for advising on other investments.

To see how easy it is to get your clients’ cash working harder, go to octopuscash.com/adviser for a client illustration.