We’ve been introducing you to some of our colleagues at Chase de Vere. We tell you a bit about their background, what they do and how their work helps us to provide you with a better overall service. This month we would like to introduce you to Liam Hall, Application Support Manager in our IT team, who is based in our Manchester office.
Liam’s role
Liam and his team are responsible for managing all of the software which Chase de Vere Advisers, and their support teams, use to help them deliver their expert advice and ongoing service to our Clients. This includes our back-office systems, the Personal Finance Portal used by our Advisers and Clients, and portfolio and asset allocation tools.
The use of this software helps to ensure that, for example, client information is complete and consistent, that we can transact and liaise with our clients seamlessly and securely, and that clients’ investment portfolios are aligned to our Advisers’ advice and the research and guidance issued by our Investment Management Team.
The starting point for Liam’s team is to ensure that all of the software is working efficiently every day, so that our clients receive a seamless service. They also review the software on an ongoing basis and implement changes when they’re able to make improvements for the benefit of our Clients.
Liam’s professional background
Liam joined the financial services industry in 2012 as a Business Assistant working for a company which provides compliance and business support to firms of financial advisers. He was working with Intelligent Office, which is the back-office system that Chase de Vere uses today.
Liam’s role expanded as his knowledge and expertise grew, and he became responsible for implementing new software, making ongoing improvements and for training financial advisers and his work colleagues.
In 2017, Liam joined Chase de Vere as a Technical Business Analyst, initially on a 12-month fixed contract to help the company implement Intelligent Office as its back-office system. This was done successfully, and Liam was invited to remain at Chase de Vere in a permanent role as an Application Analyst.
Liam’s role involved supporting and training Chase de Vere Advisers and their support teams and managing projects to implement software improvements. In 2021, he was promoted to his current role, taking on responsibility for managing our Application Support team. He reports to Bob Kelly, who is our Director of IT and who is a member of the Company’s Executive Team.
Chase de Vere’s Personal Finance Portal (PFP)
Most of our clients will be aware of our Personal Finance Portal. This is accessible to clients 24/7 and has up-to-date information on their valuations and other information. It provides a secure and efficient environment for clients to communicate with their Advisers, to exchange documentation and, through DocuSign, to use electronic signatures without having to print, physically sign and then scan documents or use the postal service.
Liam and his team are responsible for the smooth running of the Personal Finance Portal, and taking into account the regular feedback he receives from Advisers, for making improvements.
DocuSign was added to the Portal in March 2020, as the pandemic was taking hold, and this allowed us to provide an efficient service for our clients despite the lockdown restrictions. Indeed, we were able to transact much quicker and more securely through the Portal than we ever could by sending documents through the post.
Other improvements included the addition of open banking, which was added last year and allows clients to link their bank accounts, in addition to their investment and pension holdings, to the Portal.
More recently, you may have noticed that there has been a change to the layout of information on the home page, which should make it even easier for clients to use and navigate.
Outside of work
Liam played rugby for his local team for many years, although was forced to stop playing last year because of injury. He was also previously a regular runner and is planning to start doing that again to maintain his fitness.
He enjoys spending time with friends and family, and he is a real film buff, watching many types of films including new releases and old classics. His favourite film is a definite classic – The Shawshank Redemption.
Liam says:
“The role of my team is to ensure that our Advisers and their support teams have the software that they need to provide an efficient, consistent and reliable service for our clients. I make sure that the software is working properly day-in and day-out and, taking ongoing feedback from our Advisers and others in the business into account, I’m always looking at where we can improvements so that we can provide an even better overall service for our Clients.”