The platform is being launched in an environment where financial advisors’ challenges are – according to research from Invesco – increasing regulation and engaging the next generation of clients. Advisors are turning to outsourced investment solutions to save valuable time, which they can then devote to addressing these challenges. However, Invesco also found demand for more soft skills training, which advisors believe is central to effectively engaging clients and meeting their evolving needs, the firm said in a statement. 

Currently, advisors are required to complete 35 hours of CPD on technical skills per year, with no set requirement for soft skills training. That is despite Invesco finding that the top three skills advisors value as most important are all soft skills; listening skills (cited by 75 per cent), communication skills (65 per cent) and empathy (63 per cent) were all ranked by advisors above financial knowledge (51 per cent).

Invesco surveyed 200 advisors and found that three quarters do less than 10 per cent of their training on soft skills and, of these, a quarter do not do any soft skills training. This is despite 96 per cent of advisors agreeing that soft skills are important for their role and more than half ranking a greater focus on soft skills as the improvement they would most like to see to in their CPD training.

The new Invesco Intelligence Plus platform has been built by experts and unites the three core skills the firm believes are important for supporting the role of an advisor, including emotional intelligence, practice intelligence and investment intelligence.

Invesco said it will develop the Intelligence Plus platform over time, adding new modules from external and internal experts across all three core skills areas at regular intervals through the rest of the year and beyond.

“The Invesco Intelligence Plus platform is the natural next step for us as we build upon our high-quality offering to continue to work with advisors, helping them to deliver the best possible services and outcomes for their clients – whatever their needs,” Kate Dwyer, head of UK Distribution, Invesco said. 

In January 2024, Invesco launched a Discretionary Model Portfolio Service for financial advisors and wealth managers. This was followed in June with the announcement of a partnership with retirement specialist Just Group to develop a new retirement solution for advised clients to help meet the changing needs of those approaching or already at retirement. June also saw the launch of the Invesco Summit Income Fund (UK), a fund of funds designed to help UK financial advisors meet the evolving needs of clients seeking reliable income streams, particularly during retirement, the firm said.