If your goal is to put clients at the forefront of everything you do, I would wholeheartedly recommend engaging with Parmenion.
Patrick Theobalds
Chief Operating Officer
1. How would you describe Pembroke?
We’re a financial planning firm supporting clients across every aspect of their financial lives - from retirement planning and investment advice to whole-family planning and wealth preservation. We also have specialist teams assisting in major life events, for example Pensions on Divorce.
2. When and why did you choose to start working with Parmenion?
We’ve grown rapidly over the last seven years, and through that growth we’ve inherited a number of platforms - a challenge that’s common across the industry. What sets Parmenion apart is its proprietary technology and, above all, its level of service. Because Parmenion owns its technology, there’s no reliance on third parties.
3. How many other platforms were you dealing with?
We can’t disclose the exact number, but it was significant.
4. Do you have an objective to get down to a certain number of platforms?
Yes. Reducing our platform footprint delivers substantial operational efficiencies, so consolidation is a clear priority for us.
5. Can you give us a quick summary of your story so far with Parmenion and your switching journey?
We’ve now completed a couple of switches, and I’ve been hugely impressed by Parmenion’s level of involvement. Our recent switch from Aviva was a real success story – everything was delivered on Parmenion’s side exactly to the project plan.
6. How would you characterise the support you’ve received throughout the process?
The support has been exceptional. Parmenion has a dedicated transfers team with specialist expertise, backed by an additional layer of support from relationship managers, all of whom have been excellent.
Parmenion took on most of the heavy lifting through the switch, so very little input was needed from our side. Communication was excellent throughout, with regular touchpoints keeping us informed at every stage. The project plan broke the switch down into manageable tranches of clients, which made it a very achievable project – and ultimately a great success for us.
7. What would you say was of the greatest value to you and the business?
Without question, the communication. All too often, once you’re moving away from an incumbent platform, communication tends to dry up. With other providers, we’ve frequently been left in the dark about where things stood and how the transfer was progressing.
8. What were the main things that you were worried about with a switch to a different platform?
Our client base is diverse – some clients are drawing an income, while others are making regular contributions. It was essential that none of them experienced any disruption to accessing or adding to their money during the process.
Parmenion’s support was invaluable here, they understood the transfer window, carried out detailed background scoping of the funds we were moving, checked whether each was electronically linked, and mapped out the process required to complete every transfer.
In the past, our concerns have centred on potential data loss, whether a transfer would complete at all, or whether assets might simply disappear into a black hole. With Parmenion, those concerns never arose.
9. What way did a switch to Parmenion help improve planning outcomes?
Our key objective is to keep clients at the forefront and our client relationships at the heart of everything Pembroke does. By reducing the number of platforms our people need to interact with, we free up their time to engage more meaningfully with our clients.
10. What has impressed you most about your experience with Parmenion and the Switch service?
The quality of the interactions, the depth of insight into the data, and the way findings are presented back to us. Parmenion does most of the heavy lifting: we provide the data sets, and they come back fully analysed and broken down, with any potential pitfalls clearly highlighted. That level of analysis impressed us most.
11. What could we have done better?
I’d struggle to name anything. We were kept informed throughout the entire journey, the analysis was faultless, and nothing fell through the cracks. Everything was communicated clearly and without jargon, so there was never any room for confusion.
12. What's one word to describe how Switch has been for you?
Seamless.
13. If you were to score our switch service out of five?
Five out of five.
14. What would you say to other firms who were unhappy with their current platform?
Start by considering what you want from a platform, both for your business and for your clients. If your goal is to put clients at the forefront of everything you do, I would wholeheartedly recommend engaging with Parmenion. Their team visits our offices, spends time with our people to understand any blockers, and keeps us regularly updated on developments in the pipeline. Look at how you could work in partnership with them, explore their roadmap, and consider how Parmenion can help develop your business.
