Fintech firm launches client management app for IFAs
A London-based fintech has launched an app to help IFAs manage client documents and keep track of their clients’ financial plans through the use of open banking.
Founded by Fraser Stewart and his father Gary Stewart, Lyfeguard allows advisers to store, share and organize financial information, as well as legal documents, birth certificates and wills – with the ability to send documents between friends and family within the app.
The app also allows advisors to set reminders, and produces reports on financial health via a dashboard.
The article continues after the advertisement
Using open banking, Lyfeguard automatically populates the dashboard with up-to-date bank and credit card balance totals.
“We set out to create a solution that solved the two main problems of poor personal document management and ease of end-of-life and senior planning,” said Fraser, Lyfeguard’s CEO.
“Current competitors typically focus exclusively on the latter, but Lyfeguard strives to make personal and information accessible and useful in life as well, for a holistic life planning experience that isn’t just centered around death.”
Fraser said the app has been made possible through several partnerships and integrations with application programming interfaces – the technology that underpins open banking.
“There are a number of exciting collaborations already in the pipeline to take the platform to the next level,” Fraser added.
The app also uses two-factor authentication for login, as well as AES-256 encryption – a form of security that hides plaintext data using an algorithm.
Prior to Lyfeguard, Fraser was a digital acquisition manager at HSBC. He also spent four years at British Airways, where he worked on the flagship airline’s marketing.
Father Gary previously founded the Xceed Group, an IT management consulting firm that he ran for nearly 15 years.
“After a close friend recently died, I was asked by his family to sort out his estate. I of course agreed to help, but I must admit that I was overwhelmed by the task, which was made more difficult by the grief we were in. all suffering,” said Gary, Lyfeguard’s CEO.
“It was difficult not knowing how important information was, especially when it came to financial and legal documentation. This prolonged the grieving process and made it more difficult for everyone involved.
“I then decided that I would not leave my family in a similar position if something happened to me, and so the Lyfeguard vision was born. Now no one will have to struggle with the same problems I did.”
The father and son duo reckon their app will help IFAs and their clients spend less time on life administration, helping to collect billions in unclaimed assets currently littering the UK, according to government data.
