AMA: I'm Jess Lamb, Xplan expert and Director at Practice Dynamix, Ask Me Anything!

Advisers and paraplanners, are you providing the best possible experience during the client review? And how could you be using Xplan to be making the process even more efficiency?

Join me here on Thursday 13th November from 3pm to 4pm to find out!

Whether it’s about maintaining client data integrity, automating workflows and client comms, or uncovering Xplan’s hidden gems – start popping in your questions below and Ask Me Anything!

❗️Update: This AMA has now ended but please continue to pop your questions in the discussion forums and make sure you tag me at @jessica.lamb

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rainier.reyes

Welcome everyone to an Advisely Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread!

Here's how to get involved:

Submit Your Questions: Just type them out and post now ahead of the AMA! This is a text-based event, so no audio or video is needed. Jess will be here to answer whatever Xplan questions you have during the scheduled time.
Be Respectful: Keep it friendly and professional. Respectful dialogue makes the AMA enjoyable and informative for everyone.
Stay Engaged: Feel free to follow up or ask about different topics as the thread goes on. The more you interact, the richer the conversation.
Enjoy the Experience: Use this opportunity to gain insights, share laughs, and connect. Let’s make this AMA one to remember!

Looking forward to all your amazing questions and let the asking begin!

Recommendation before AMA: have you seen episode 3 of the Growth Masterclass series?

If not, I highly encourage everyone to check out the third episode here.

With new workflows in place, the Twomeys practice's next job is to put the client review process on autopilot and free up the team’s valuable time. This episode, enlists Xplan’s powerful capabilities to help them become one of the 37% of advice businesses who have automated the client review process.

Have any questions for @jessica.lamb after watching the episode? Pop them in this thread too!

danielle.fox

Is it possible to have Calendly invite that automatically opens a dairy event in XPlan/Compass to then open the respective review task for the set administrator?

abutcher

When will the XPLAN client portal have the functionality to send a review fact find to clients prior to the review meeting to allow clients to provide agenda items and updated financial information? The new client fact find works well for us to share data securely and updates xplan fields automatically, however, we are after a review fact find that would streamline our review process.

mat.tenison3

Hi Jessica, thanks for taking the time today! I'm wondering what the biggest "hidden gems" are that your clients generally aren't aware of? Also, we have a group of clients who we keep in industry funds, which don't have data feeds to xplan yet. Do you have any work arounds that would be helpful and can be somewhat automated for reviews? Cheers!

shane.oconnor

Hi,

I’m looking to benchmark client portfolios against appropriate peer group benchmarks, such as the Morningstar Target Allocation Index or the Financial Express unit trust peer group (e.g., FE UT PG Multi-Asset Balanced Index used by Lonsec) in IPS.

In the product lists, I see various options labelled as Market Index, but I can’t determine their source or asset allocation (default 100% other).

Am I missing something? Is there a way to benchmark a client’s portfolio to a recognised industry peer multi-asset index?

kellie.vizer

Hi Jess, I love watching your videos along with your passion and enthusiasm for XPLAN

Where do you think the biggest advantages can be gained in XPLAN? What are you excited to see in XPLAN over the next 12 months?

penelope.mcwilliam2

Hi Jess,

I'm exploring ways to better automate and organize our paraplanning workflow. At the moment, we're using Xplan Tasks/Threads, but I find myself constantly having to monitor and adjust them.

I'm looking at tools like Asana, Monday.com, or Jira, but I'm wondering if you have any recommendations—especially if there's a solution that integrates with Xplan?

rainier.reyes

Hi everyone and welcome to today's AMA!

Please ensure you read the instructions above before you post.

In order to see new questions and responses, make sure you refresh the page regularly.

Let me know if you need any assistance!

jessica

What a good question to kick off todays AMA.

I have some great news – the functionality to send a review fact find to clients prior to the review meeting is due to be released in early 2025! This information comes directly from @lachlan.fuller, Client Portal Product Manager.

This feature is certainly one that advisers will be excited about, and we expect it to be a key milestone. Be sure to keep an eye on Advisely, where there will likely be discussions on the practical implications and how it can streamline the review process. Like you, we are eagerly anticipating this enhancement. Roll on 2025!

jessica

Wouldn’t that be great! While a direct integration between Calendly and XPLAN to automatically create diary events and trigger review tasks is not yet possible, we do know that calendar integration is on the XPLAN Product Team’s radar.

However, you can still automate the activation of review tasks using the following methods:

Diary Template*
File Note Template
An activated case that searches for a date in an XPLAN date field
The client’s scheduled review date
Using scheduler

Note*: If you use a Case Thread linked to a Diary Template, you will also benefit from the Diary Date being used as a Base Date. This allows tasks to be triggered on specific days before or after the meeting date. Additionally, if the meeting date changes, the base date will automatically adjust!

Although we can’t yet link a Calendly invite directly to trigger a task, you can still streamline the process by implementing a system that ensures all events are recorded in XPLAN in some form - and kick off that next process through automation.

jessica

I love discussing XPLAN’s "hidden gems." Typically, these are areas of the system that you might not have explored yet, or features you didn’t realise you needed. There are too many to list in one sitting, but I’ll focus on your specific example of industry funds.

Industry funds offer clients lower-cost products and unique investment options, and they are widely advertised, so clients are often familiar with them. However, they can create some administrative challenges for advice businesses, particularly when it comes to manually updating portfolios and running review reports, especially around performance analysis.

While there’s no simple way around the manual data entry for these funds, there are several ways to improve efficiency and automate parts of your review process:

Automate Review Invitations: Set up automated emails triggered by the client's review date in XPLAN, encouraging them to book their review.
Streamline the Review Process: Once the review is booked, it should trigger the Review Process Thread, ensuring all steps are completed, including client paperwork.
Automate SOA/ROA Production: Ensure your workflow is linked to automatic production of Statements of Advice (SOA) and Record of Advice (ROA) documents.
Post-Review XPLAN Cleanup: After the review, include a task in the workflow to update XPLAN, including rolling over the client's next review date.

Key areas of XPLAN to consider when refining your review process include:

Workflow Cases
Case Benchmarks
Email Templates
Scheduler
Diary Templates
Wizards
Review Merge Reports
File Note Templates

By setting up these automations and workflows, you can significantly reduce manual effort and ensure a smoother, more efficient review process - freeing up time to update your industry super fund balances.

jessica

It’s interesting to note that many firms are actually moving away from external platforms like Asana, Monday.com, or Jira, and bringing their workflow management back into XPLAN.

Processes do evolve over time, so it’s important to regularly review and update them, but this should not feel like a burden. Here are a few suggestions to help automate and streamline your paraplanning workflow within XPLAN:

Ad-Hoc Processes: For tasks that need flexibility, consider using a Task Template with a checklist for key action items. The task can remain open throughout the process, and the checklist will allow you to track progress. Standalone task templates are also easy to update as your processes change.
Larger Processes: For more complex workflows, consider reviewing and refining your processes at least every six months, with a more comprehensive review every 12 months.

You can duplicate workflows to test major changes before making them live. (If you are not sure how to do this let me know and I'll share a how-to video.)
Your processes should reflect the ideal path you want your clients to follow, but it's important to include exit points where needed. If a client deviates from the standard process, it’s perfectly fine to pause and then resume once the issue is resolved.

By refining these workflows within XPLAN, you can create a more organised, automated process without relying on third-party tools.

jessica

Thanks Kellie. The next 12 months present an exciting opportunity to maximise the potential of XPLAN. It’s a great time frame to build a strategic action plan, with clear monthly milestones tailored to your practice. A key focus should be on enhancing automation and streamlining processes wherever possible.

Some critical areas to consider over the next year include:

Maximising the Client Portal
Optimising workflow processes for your business
Automating repetitive tasks
Reviewing and refining internal documentation to ensure consistency and alignment with client needs
Regularly reviewing client data and business performance

Looking ahead, there are several key features to be excited about in the next 12 months:

Digital Signature Integration: The upcoming integration with DocuSign will simplify and speed up client approvals and document management.
Business Intelligence Enhancements: XPLAN’s new Business Intelligence features will provide powerful, real-time reporting capabilities, reducing reliance on complex coding and offering actionable insights directly within the platform.
Client Portal Fact Find Review: This update will help advisers collect up-to-date client information ahead of reviews, improving efficiency and client engagement.

Of course, we can’t overlook the impact of AI. I’m particularly excited about the upcoming Advisely webinar, "AI: From Hype to Prototype", where we'll hear more about this emerging space. I've worked with several groups already leveraging AI for file notes and client communications, which marks a significant step forward for the industry. By automating note-taking and project planning, AI can greatly reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing you to focus on refining and implementing your insights.

If you haven't yet registered for the webinar, here’s the link: Register now – AI: From hype to prototype | Advisely

The next 12 months are indeed exciting, and I highly recommend developing a business plan that focuses on these areas. A plan with defined goals and measurable outcomes will drive efficiency, improve client service, and allow you to fully capitalise on XPLAN’s evolving capabilities.

jessica

One of the key features of the XPLAN Benchmarking area is the ability to benchmark your client’s portfolio against any IPS product. This flexibility can be both advantageous and somewhat challenging, depending on the index you wish to use.

When reviewing Benchmarks to add to IPS reports. Here is my tip:

To ensure you're selecting the correct benchmark for your client, I recommend navigating to Portfolio > Maintenance > Products. From there, you can search for your chosen index by name. If you're uncertain of the exact name, you can use the Portfolio Wildcard (*) to help locate the product. More details on how to use the wildcard can be found here.

Once you’ve located the relevant index, review the Price area to ensure the benchmark is regularly updated. This is where is is going to draw the historical return information from. If it has a consistent price feed, it is likely a suitable benchmark for your client’s portfolio.

The new IPS Analytic page within the client’s profile is a great tool for reviewing the client’s portfolio in relation to the benchmark options you've selected.

I have a little video on Benchmarking. I could probably spend 1 hour on this, but I tried to cover it in under 7 minutes:

shane.oconnor

Thanks Jessica,

Thank you for the response and video. I understand that the answer required is longer than the time you have available. I am interested in hearing if you have further insights on how firms are creating peer-relative indexes to monitor client portfolios, as opposed to building portfolio benchmarks that use asset class indexes for each asset class. Clients typically wish to see their performance relative to the applicable average fund (peer relative) rather than a constructed asset class index, making peer-relative more applicable. I cited examples like the Morningstar Target Allocation Index or the Financial Express unit trust peer group. Is this feasible, or does it require a paid data feed subscription?

In the product list, there are options such as "Wholesale Allocated Pension Diversified - Balanced Index - FX273AU," which appears to have historical and updated pricing, but the asset allocation shows 100% other. I am unable to find more information in the community or by lodging a ticket via the iress service desk about these options listed in the product list to understand them better and determine applicability. Apologies for the lengthy message; I just want to ensure I've looked at all avenues before jumping of this horse (for now). @marc.fraser-jones I'm tagging you in case you have some solutions?

luke

@shane.oconnorHi mate, have you had any luck with this at all? I m trying to do the exact same thing and use the Lonsec Multi-Asset funds as the benchmark, but am struggling also.

siva.mehta

As you might be aware, we've been experiencing some persistent issues with the diary sync functionality between Xplan and Outlook. I'm reaching out to see if you know of any alternative ways to achieve this synchronisation within Office 365, or if there are any other tools that might work better for this purpose.

Your insights and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

jessica

Hi Siva

Is the issue with turning on the Sync or is it related to what diary event sync between XPLAN and Outlook? As you are possible aware, appointments made in Outlook need to meet certain criteria in order to feed into XPLAN and I would love to hear from the XPLAN Product team if they are looking into enhancing these criteria so in a perfect world the two diaries are the same regardless of how the appointment was created.

Since the Diary Sync went down, this did become low priority for a lot of businesses and for some that use external diary services like Calendly and Bookings, the sync was less important.

Personally, there are a significant number of benefits in using the XPLAN diary and I would love to see XPLAN add to their roadmap some enhancements to the diary which provides solutions for:

1. Clients to book their own appointments

2. Full integration to Outlook

3. Support for Google Calender

But - back to the syncing issue. I have been remiss in testing the Diary for a while (for the reasons mentioned above) and only just turned back on my diary sync today. And so far - not working as well.

Let's get some traction on this one for you (and me). Are you using Microsoft 365? How are you enabling this in System Settings, and what happens when you test sync via the user?? I am getting the error "Diary sync to Microsoft 365 is unsuccessful. Please check host set up and Microsoft 365." Is this the same for you?

jessica

Good news. I tested again and got:

Diary sync to Microsoft 365 is successful

Is this similar to your experience @siva.mehta?