Portfolio Insight

Portfolio Insight was built to make investment due diligence quicker to carry out and easier to evidence. The latest release takes that a step further, extending the platform beyond comparison and into full investment research.

Advisers can now research thousands of funds and Model Portfolio Services directly within the platform, then move straight through to comparison, audit reporting and client-ready recommendations — without re-keying data or switching between systems.

Powerful Investment Research at Your Fingertips

Identifying suitable investments has traditionally meant working across multiple tools, spreadsheets and provider factsheets.

Portfolio Insight now allows advisers to search and filter thousands of funds and Model Portfolio Services against an extensive range of investment criteria:

• Universe and availability
• Investment sectors
• Costs and fees
• Asset content and equity exposure
• Fund attributes and characteristics
• Performance metrics
• Risk-adjusted measures including Alpha, Beta, Sharpe Ratio and Standard Deviation

The result is significantly less time spent manually reviewing fund data, and a research process that is consistent and well documented every time.

From Research to Recommendation

Once suitable investments have been shortlisted, advisers can compare funds, Model Portfolio Services and existing client portfolios side by side across performance, volatility, charges, holdings, asset allocation and overall suitability.

From there, comprehensive audit reports and client-ready recommendation documents can be produced within the same workflow.

Supporting Investment Governance

Regulatory expectations continue to evolve.

Advisers are increasingly expected to demonstrate not only that a recommendation is suitable, but that the research and due diligence behind it stand up to scrutiny.

Portfolio Insight has been developed to help firms create a consistent, transparent and fully auditable investment process — supporting Consumer Duty requirements while improving efficiency across the research journey.

Built for Advisers and Paraplanners

Portfolio Insight has been developed specifically for UK financial advisers and paraplanners who need to undertake robust investment research, perform due diligence and produce professional client reports efficiently.

For smaller firms in particular, it provides research capability that would otherwise require dedicated investment specialists — without the overhead.

Wealth & Retirement

Rising regulation, increasing retirement complexity and growing client expectations are creating new challenges for sole trader financial advisers. At the same time, an ageing population, a widening advice gap and significant intergenerational wealth transfer are creating major opportunities for advisers who are well positioned to meet demand.

So, what does 2026 look like for independent advisers operating on their own — and how can technology help?

Demand for Advice Remains Strong

For many financial advisers, the appeal of running a sole trader practice remains the same: independence, flexibility and the ability to build strong, long-term client relationships.

However, operating independently is becoming increasingly demanding.

Retirement planning is more complex than ever. Consumer Duty continues to raise expectations around client outcomes and ongoing service. Pension legislation is evolving, and clients increasingly expect sophisticated modelling, professional reporting and timely advice.

Yet despite these challenges, demand for advice remains strong.

Millions of consumers still remain within the advice gap, creating significant opportunities for advisers who can deliver high-quality advice efficiently and consistently.

Retirement Planning Has Never Been More Complex

The shift from accumulation to decumulation continues to reshape retirement advice.

Clients increasingly expect guidance on sustainable withdrawal strategies, inflation risk, longevity planning and pension consolidation. Proposed pension tax changes and evolving retirement legislation have only added to the complexity.

For sole traders, this creates a unique challenge. Larger firms may have dedicated technical specialists and research functions. Independent advisers often need to provide the same level of expertise while also running the business.

Consumer Duty and Demonstrating Ongoing Value

Consumer Duty has shifted the focus from process to outcomes.

For advisers, the challenge is no longer simply delivering advice, but evidencing the value of ongoing service and demonstrating that clients continue to receive positive outcomes.

For sole traders in particular, maintaining documentation, review records and client communications can quickly become time consuming.

Clients increasingly expect clear reporting, regular engagement and evidence that their adviser is continuing to deliver value.

Pension Consolidation and Changing Tax Rules

Many clients approaching retirement hold multiple pension arrangements accumulated throughout their working lives.

Assessing whether consolidation is appropriate requires advisers to consider charges, investment options, provider features, guarantees and retirement flexibility. Done properly, consolidation can create significant value for clients, but gathering information and producing suitable comparisons can be time intensive without the right systems in place.

At the same time, proposed changes to the inheritance tax treatment of pensions are likely to prompt many clients to revisit retirement and estate planning strategies. Advisers who can model different outcomes clearly and efficiently will be well placed to support both existing and prospective clients.

Technology Has Become a Competitive Advantage

For sole traders, technology is increasingly the great leveller.

Modern advice businesses are expected to provide professional reports, sophisticated modelling, investment research and efficient client servicing regardless of their size.

The right technology can reduce administration, improve consistency and allow advisers to spend more time where they add the most value — with clients.

Integration is equally important. Time spent rekeying information between systems is time that could be spent advising clients or developing the business.

Looking Ahead

The pressures facing sole trader advisers are real.

Regulation continues to evolve. Retirement planning is becoming more complex. Business costs remain challenging.

But so too are the opportunities.

Millions of consumers still need advice. Retirement planning remains one of the most important financial decisions people will make, and trusted advisers continue to play a critical role in helping clients achieve positive outcomes.

The future remains positive for advisers who can combine strong technical expertise with efficient processes, professional client communications and the right technology.

A smarter, more connected advice process — without re-keying

The integration between Selectapension and 4admin is now live, giving financial advice firms a more streamlined and connected workflow from planning through to administration and client servicing.

By linking Selectapension’s switching tools directly with 4admin’s advice management and CRM platform, advisers can work across both systems without duplicating data — supporting greater efficiency, accuracy and control throughout the advice process.

Why this integration matters

Many advice firms continue to manage fragmented systems, manual data entry and disconnected workflows — all of which increase administration time and introduce unnecessary compliance risk.

The Selectapension and 4admin integration addresses this by allowing firms to:

• Transfer client and planning data seamlessly between platforms
• Eliminate re-keying and reduce administrative effort
• Maintain a clear, auditable compliance trail from recommendation through to implementation
• Continue working within the systems they already use and trust

The result is a more efficient process that supports adviser productivity and improves the overall client experience.

Built around real adviser workflows

With the integration in place, advisers can run switching analysis and planning scenarios within Selectapension and then push the outputs directly into 4admin.

Once transferred, data and reports are automatically linked to the client record, supporting:

• Centralised tracking of advice history and plan changes
• Streamlined post-recommendation workflows
• Faster generation of reports and audit trails
• A more joined-up approach to client servicing

This removes friction between planning and administration, helping firms spend less time managing systems and more time supporting clients.

Getting started

The Selectapension and 4admin integration is available now.

If you’d like to see how the integration works in practice, or discuss how it fits into your existing workflows, our team is always happy to arrange a demo.

These concise, client-friendly summaries complement the full comprehensive report, making it easier to present key information to your clients clearly.

What’s Included

Each Short Report provides:

• A breakdown of current pension plans
• Cost comparison, including projected values and charges
• Death benefit comparison
• Overview of the proposed investment

Ideal for client meetings, these reports simplify complex information without omitting all the important details.

View or download a sample report below or click the Book Demo button for more information.

The focus of our new software is to enable advisers to carry out comparisons and due diligence across the marketplace for customers.

Key Benefits:

Comprehensive MPS Comparison – Compare multiple MPS, model portfolios, insured funds, and multi asset/supermarket funds, while factoring in product features, charges, projections, and availability.

All of Market Due Diligence – Conduct thorough comparisons across platforms and investment solutions, ensuring compliance and transparency.

Performance Insights – Analyse portfolios with the latest data from Morningstar and our dedicated MPS feed. Performance comparison for up to three portfolios including all the latest information from Morningstar including benchmarks. Top 10 underlying holdings for each portfolio.

Risk & Asset Allocation Analysis – Assess portfolio volatility and breakdowns by asset class and underlying holdings. Highlighting a chosen solution, it will also include an asset allocation breakdown and a Morningstar rating if you are using an MPS. Asset allocation for the asset classes you have included within your portfolios.

Client & Compliance Support – Generate professional reports for clients while maintaining an audit trail to demonstrate comparisons. All of market due diligence on any product including platforms, ability to include product specific features and availability of your chosen investment solution.

Consumer Duty and TCF – Demonstrate to your customers as well as showing your audit trail for compliance purposes that you have compared the marketplace whenever required.

Features and Benefits:

Performance Analytics: Gain insights into the historical performance of model portfolios to make well-informed decisions. Our comprehensive analysis provides a clear picture of how each portfolio has fared over time, you are able to show current holdings against new options easily.

Cost Comparison: Compare costs of the product and platforms which have access to your preferred portfolios.

Time Saving: Save valuable time by eliminating the need for manual comparisons and research. Our tool automates the process, making it efficient and user-friendly.

New Updated User-Friendly interface: Navigate through your performance data with ease. Our intuitive interface makes complex data simple to use.