Skandia become first provider to receive the ‘accredited associate’ trainer status from 1st

1st, a Vertex company and the leading supplier of integrated technology solutions for financial advisers, today announced that Skandia has become the first provider to receive the ‘accredited associate’ trainer status for its Adviser Office (AO) software.

Accredited associate status will enable Skandia’s e-business specialist support team to train financial advisers on how to maximise the benefits that can be gained from the integration between Adviser Office and the Skandia platform.  This includes streamlining the processes for accessing portfolio valuation reports, commission statements and general policy details - transferring this information into their back office.  Ultimately Skandia’s e-business specialist support team will be able to help advisers use both systems more effectively.    

To qualify for this accreditation, eight Skandia representatives successfully completed an intensive six day course, covering a number of work-shop style modules. Participants also received a comprehensive overview of the AO services already integrated with Skandia’s own systems, such as e-Commissions and e-Valuations.

Richard Goodall, sales director, 1st  and The Exchange,  comments:

“This training course brings together key modules of the ‘clientsfirst’ program we run, but, following a scoping consultation with Skandia, additional elements have been incorporated to tailor the content to providers.  We are confident this will aid Skandia’s well respected e-business specialist support team in helping financial advisers use the links that exist between the 1st and Skandia systems.  

“Skandia has always been an enthusiastic provider partner for us and was particularly keen to achieve the new accredited status in order to help advisers make the most of AO’s broad functionality - and in particular, the integrated e-service modules.  We are delighted with the success of the program.”

Neil Bage, UK business development manager, Skandia, added:

“Our team of e-business specialists provides financial advisers with the regional, face-to-face support, which we believe is unrivalled in the UK market. This ensures we have extensive knowledge of how IFA firms operate and the software solutions they use to do so successfully and profitably.

“This training from 1st has given us additional and practical understanding of how back office systems can fully complement our own technology to create a more streamlined process.

“By undertaking this accreditation, we are demonstrating that we fully support the needs of those advisers who use both Adviser Office and the Skandia platform - resulting in a client-centric proposition that also ticks all the boxes for TCF.  This creates a situation whereby the intermediary has a profitable and sustainable business model and the client receives a first class, top quality service.”

All clientsfirst training courses can be tailor-made for advisers, paraplanners, administrators, compliance officers and accounts teams. Services include:

• Business Consultancy – offers a diverse range of services designed to support the adviser firm with ongoing business issues (eg TCF) from initial meetings, implementation consultancy for new customers, training plans and process mapping workshops, procedure writing, e-commissions consultancy package, bespoke training plans and project management. 
• ‘Train the Trainer’ – designed to give selected staff the necessary skills to effectively train other employees within the organisation
• Training Courses – include topics such as ‘introduction to basic commissions’, ‘compliance made easy’, ‘streamlining e-business activity’ and ‘enhancing client services’. Bespoke training courses can also be arranged.

For further information on any training courses or consultancy service please visit www.1stextranet.com or contact the client services team on 0845 068 9999.