How to conduct research
For the purposes of this guide, we are demonstrating full client focussed research, culminating in a suitability report for a self invested personal pension (SIPP).
Log into Synaptic Product Research as normal.
Fig 1.
This will take you to the Synaptic Research home page (Fig 2) which contains useful information to keep you up to date on our company news, lists of the most recent product additions & deletions, contact information, training details as well as industry news, courtesy of Trustnet.
Fig 2.
From the home page, select the next tab along called Pension Savings. On this screen, you can see the products types listed within the pension savings category on the left hand side (Fig 3). Under the self invested personal pension heading there is a choice of two types of SIPP to select from (full or hybrid). To view a definition for the different product types, right click on the blue text for the product type in question.
For the purposes of this guide we are conducting research on full SIPPs. To proceed, simply click on the blue text ‘Full’.
Fig 3.
The system will take you through to the client entry screen (Fig 4). The top half of the client screen captures data specific to your client. If you have conducted research for this client previously, you can use the load button to pre-populate data such as their name, date of birth, smoker status, etc.
Fig 4.
The lower half of the client screen caters specifically for information relevant to the product being researched. For SIPPs, you will need to enter the expected retirement age. The term will then be calculated automatically. Enter the monthly and/or single gross contribution and select the ‘start research’ button.
From the features screen you will be presented with a host of different product features that can be used to apply tick box filtering to eliminate products that are not in line with your clients’ needs. Features listed in bold have further sub features that are displayed once you have ticked the heading. At this point you should select the features to match the premium frequency entered on the client screen (Fig 5).
Fig 5.
By right clicking your mouse over a feature, you will be able to view the feature definition. If you left click on the feature title without ticking the box, the software will add those features as columns in a data grid on the right hand side of the screen. This allows product comparison without eliminating products from the research process.
More filtering is available from the conditions and stats tabs to reduce the products listed to a shortlist of only those that are suitable for your clients’ needs.
At any time during the filtering process, select the ‘audit trail’ button to pinpoint where products have been excluded from the research process. This is located at the lower part of the screen underneath the features/conditions/stats lists on the left hand side of the screen. This can be saved separately in PDF (Fig 6).
Fig 6.
Fig 7.
Proceed to the ranking section. This will allow you to rank the remaining products on one or more of the options available (Fig 7). You are able to determine the appropriate level of importance of each (low, medium or high).
Click on the calculate button. Synaptic Research will perform a series of calculations for the remaining products based on the ranking options selected and their relative importance. The results are displayed in a simple, easy to read format (Fig 8).
Fig 8.
Individual scores for each ranking option can also be viewed when clicking on the appropriate coloured tab (Fig 9).
Fig 9.
Select the report tab. You will now be able to select your recommended product from the list by clicking on it (Fig 10).
Fig 10.
Once highlighted, you have a choice of report formats – a quick standard report, a product fact sheet or full suitability report.
Fig 11.
Fig 11 and 12 show report template fields and the first page of a full suitability report respectively.
Fig 12.