These days when you set up a new policy with your financial advisor the chances are they will recommend a wrap. Certainly the vast majority of new business transactions here at Gibson Lamb are conducted via a wrap.
Chicken and Bacon or Standard Life?
Clearly we couldn’t resist the obvious pun but needless to say a wrap is not a fancy name for a half filled sandwich from Eat or Pret (other high quality sandwich chains are available).
In this context a wrap is the industry name for having all of your investments wrapped up in one bit of software with one insurance company, or more accurately one platform provider because it is not just the historic insurers that offer wraps.
Why would I want a wrap?
It’s all about convenience really. It’s so much easier to shop in a supermarket than to go to the butchers, the bakers and the grocers plus the sweetshop quickly whilst no one is looking.
The same applies to your finances; it is more convenient to have your pension, ISA, general investment account and maybe even an offshore bond in one place.
Good for you or good for us?
The truth is of course a wrap is good for us because it means we can work more efficiently. We use more than one wrap provider as one size does not fit all (and if anyone from compliance is reading this then of course we don’t always recommend a wrap either as not everyone needs one).
Wrap has been good for Gibson Lamb as it means we have the tools to offer a pro-active financial planning service which would be an administrative nightmare without the technology offered by wrap and by extension wrap is good for our clients who receive a much more comprehensive service from us now than before wrap existed.
Wrap allows charges to be reduced via ‘large fund discounts’ and in some cases via ‘family discounts’ because of the assets invested across the whole family. Gibson Lamb clients also benefit from specially negotiated terms reflecting the substantial amount of client money invested.
Less paperwork is generated too although frankly our industry still produces way too much paper to be honest.
If you would like to know more, just let us know.