When Transact was launched back in 2000, members of the IFP were among its first users. The service that a wrap offered was appreciated at a much earlier stage by IFP members than most other advisers. Even before we broke into profit in July 2003 we decided to become IFP sponsors and that mutual support has continued to this day.

We were particularly keen to see the IFP’s development of the Accredited Financial Planning Firms^TM register last year, and proud to be acting as lead sponsor for the IFP Financial Planning Conference taking place on 23 February. For many advisers the transition from recommending a suitable product to their clients to providing holistic, lifetime Financial Planning is somewhat daunting. In our experience, advisers we talk to who have made that transition successfully say that it has transformed their relationships with their clients.

So many have given credit to fellow members of the IFP for sharing their experiences in helping them to make that transition. We are determined to play our part in spreading that message and facilitating professional and business development.

In connection with this, we have prepared a summary of the tools and services that are essential in meeting the new challenges. It is acknowledged that it is difficult to imagine providing holistic Financial Planning without using a wrap service. But in addition, a cashflow modelling tool, a capital gains tax computation facility and a client cash account are among just a few other aspects of high importance.

Transact was the first wrap service to be launched in the UK and remains the largest pure wrap with over £10bn held on behalf of 95,000 clients introduced by 4,200 advisers. The service has won over 30 awards from advisers. Eight of these have come in 2011. In a recent Money Marketing survey in the 18 qualitative categories highlighted we were top three in all the categories and first in 12. This is important to us. Approval by advisers is the thing that drives our efforts and we remain focused on providing the support that IFP members need to deliver effective services for their clients.