Today’s guest commentator is Alastair Conway, Sales and Marketing Director, Cofunds. The following views are his personal views and not necessarily those of The Platforum. Thanks to Alastair for his contribution.

With all the excitement over the election, ash clouds and Greece falling down a hole, it is easy to get distracted from reality for a second. However when given the excuse to sit and really think, as you are when asked to write an email like this, you begin to realise the tremendous opportunity that we, as a financial services community, currently have. If we put the immediate difficulties to one side momentarily and look back over the last year or so, we can see that things are looking up – yes, partly because the markets are easing up, but also because we are now finally beginning to adapt the technology that not only makes domestic life a damn site easier, but nowadays also revolutionises the way that advisers do their jobs. Look at email, blackberries, iPhones, video conferencing and so much more – remember when faxing was novel?

This doesn’t just make our lives easier but also dramatically improves the service that advisers can offer their customers, from the range of funds available to communication via email and web - and even Facebook, Twitter and social media platforms if you are so inclined. There is also the technology out there that lets your clients do it themselves – source information on the net, log in and transact. Even the regulator is making some things easier by bringing on regulations that focus on good business practice and offering better service so that the good guys can now win.

The challenge remains to get the man on the street to engage by seeking out and taking advice. What our sector can do is not, and should not be a privilege reserved for the ultra-wealthy. We need to take financial advice to the masses and platforms are here to help advisers do that by supporting the advice process and enabling advisers to conduct their day-to-day tasks more easily.

Platforms employ the same technology that has revolutionised communications more generally and apply it to the core component parts of our business today; enabling the delivery of a better customer experience and providing real business efficiencies. As long as platforms have a robust core process in place they can devote time to helping advisers, by, amongst other things developing the services and products that we offer, enabling advisers to have access to information online 24/7 and providing information from industry experts via our website and the events we run across the UK. This, in turn, means that advisers have more time to devote to their clients, to their professional development and to getting RDR ready.

So, ok, it’s not perfect, but after 25 years in this industry I can’t think of a time when advisers have been better placed to secure the long-term profit and value in their businesses as they are today.