Barrie & Hibbert calls for a new approach to retirement planning
Last updated 2nd November 2010 - Barrie & Hibbert announces the launch of the Retirement Portfolio Planner (RPP), a unique analysis and planning solution specifically designed for advisers and product manufacturers.
Barrie & Hibbert, the award winning modelling provider, today announced the launch of the Retirement Portfolio Planner (RPP), a unique analysis and planning solution specifically designed to help advisers and product manufacturers solve the complex issues that arise in financial planning for retirement.
The Retirement Portfolio Planner (RPP) is capable of analysing the increasingly wide range of retirement products, enabling advisors to find retirement portfolios optimised to meet their client’s planning needs and allowing providers to illustrate the benefits of their retirement product proposition.
Comprising a new modelling toolset, specifically configured to support advisers and product manufacturers, the RPP can be used to measure, assess and compare the likely performance of different retirement products and investment options, and to arrive at a solution tailored to the retirement objectives and risk preferences of the individual.
Barrie & Hibbert believes that current methods and planning tools which have been designed to support accumulation products should not be used to inform financial planning for retirement customers. That’s because traditionally risk and reward is described using simple measures of return or volatility, and advice has been based on generic terms such as ‘cautious’ or ‘balanced’. This type of information means very little to a retirement customer who is concerned with sustaining an income through retirement or the amount of money left over for dependants.
In order to demonstrate the value in their retirement product proposition, providers and advisors need to develop effective means to measure and communicate risks consistently across a range of different retirement income products and strategies.
Phil Mowbray, Head of Retail at Barrie & Hibbert, says: “Given the complexities of the evolving retirement market, and the inherent path-dependent nature of most retirement products, our clients are increasingly demanding more sophisticated modelling techniques in order to capture and communicate the various risk factors.
In response to this market demand, we have enhanced our existing modelling suite to develop the RPP. This tool will particularly help advisers and product manufacturers understand and articulate the impact of particular product or investment strategies and therefore support a robust retirement planning process.”
Further details of the Barrie and Hibbert RPP can be found at www.barrhibb.com/rpp.
