In this blog, we reflect on 2021 and the challenges and market trends arising as we look forward to the year ahead.
As we all begin to settle into 2022, it’s important to reflect on what we have achieved in 2021 and what we want to achieve in 2022. In the Guidance Channel at EV, we have big plans for the coming year and have reached many milestones in a successful year for the team.
2021 was the year the FCA finally turned its attention to guided consumer journeys and the important role they play in consumers' financial planning. From pension transfers in March to announcing plans for a stronger nudge towards pension guidance in December.
At EV, we took a similar stance; we now have a dedicated Guidance Channel working to deliver the best-guided consumer journeys in the market. We have undertaken a complete redesign of our direct to consumer solutions, EVDirect, improving the user journey, enhancing the educational content, adding clearly signed posted next steps and easy to understand projections. To drive product development we have added the ability to gather feedback directly from the consumer.
We have also designed some more targeted solutions to help answer specific questions, such as “Do I really need that extra coffee?” “What does my retirement actually look like?” and “How much income do I need in retirement?”.
We’ve also completed bespoke builds for our clients to customise their version of our solutions to align with their brand values. All of this has resulted in EV supporting hundreds of thousands of consumers with investment, retirement and lifestyle planning in 2021.
The pandemic has forced people to focus on their financial situation for two reasons: either they have seen a reduction in income or a reduction in expenditure. Both require careful planning to ensure the right decisions are made for cost-cutting or investing their extra disposable income. People have also begun to look to the future and consider if their emergency fund is sufficient or whether their pension fund will give them the retirement they desire.
This has left consumers considering what is best for them, meaning product providers and workplaces need to build on this engagement and offer possible solutions. Most consumers don’t want to be bombarded with the answers to all their questions on the first page they see, and they want to be guided through the journey with specific questions answered first followed by the ability to answer more holistic questions. They also want to be educated as they go to ensure they fully understand how their hard-earned money is being used.
To help alleviate the fear of not wanting to make the wrong decision, digital advice or automated advice has become a hot topic for product providers and workplaces. Many are looking to take their first steps into this space by using software to help increase consumer understanding and better decisions for those unable to access full advice.
At EV, we have identified these trends early and have already begun solving the problems providers will face. Our EVDirect suite of tools will continue to evolve with the exciting addition of the following:
We will also introduce enhanced at- and in-retirement functionality to our most popular tools.
We have begun developing our widgets that target specific questions and design more market-leading solutions to engage and educate the consumer.
EV has been developing digital advice solutions since 2016, and that will continue in 2022 as we enhance our tool offering and calculation engine in this space. To bridge the gap between guidance and advice using our well established EVDirect and soon to be launched EVPro.
2021 was the year consumers discovered their finances, meaning 2022 will be the year of solutioning. The providers must have the solution ready to support these potential life-changing decisions, and technology is the way forward.
Our EVDirect suite of digital retirement planning solutions can help consumers better understand their finances with a unique, personalised experience bringing their finances to life.
To find out how we can help, visit our website and book a demo.
If you would like to get in touch or speak to a team member, please email us; contact@ev.uk