Tom Barnes is a Partner and Chartered Financial Planner at Cooper Assurance Services based in Derbyshire.

How long have you been using IBOSS?

The decision to start using them was made in 2020.

How has partnering with IBOSS helped your business and which of their solutions do you predominantly use for your clients?

We predominantly use the Core MPS range but have also started more recently to look at the ESG range where appropriate.

How did you find the service received prior to making your partnering decision, along with the onboarding experience?

We couldn’t be happier with the service provided by IBOSS. There have been multiple occasions where the team have gone out of their way to provide us with additional support and the team were very patient with us in the early stages as we considered introducing the IBOSS range into our investment process.

What advice could you give a fellow advisory firm who might have concerns with making the transition to an outsourced investment partner, specifically IBOSS?

Ask the questions! The team is tight knit and importantly, accessible. I am sure there were times when they collectively rolled their eyes at our kicking of the tyres but they couldn’t have been more accommodating.

If an advisory firm is running their own in-house investment offerings, what advantages do you see in outsourcing to IBOSS?

Consistent client outcomes and the ability to provide a more proactive investment mandate than we are able to deliver on an advised basis.

What separates IBOSS from similar investment offerings available in the marketplace?

It is clear that the needs of financial advisers are at the core of the IBOSS business. Where some of their peers may only point to solutions that they offer, IBOSS take the time to understand your own needs and ask if the proposition could be tweaked or enhanced to better meet them; the proposition evolves to deliver exactly what the adviser is seeking to provide for their clients/the business.