We’ve been listening – we’re simplifying the way we communicate with you

Back in 2019 we introduced what we had hoped would be a simple and secure way of sharing documents for reading and signing with you – My Prosperity – our Serenity Client Portal.

When we were first introduced to MP, we felt it had everything we needed – easy to share documents, a way of collating more of our clients’ information without endless forms, the ability to sign online to save printing, even (for about a month) the option to link up our own investments, savings and bank accounts for real time financial oversight – it looked great.

There were a few issues however:

• the advent of new online banking communications reduced one element of functionality

• we found it wasn’t the easiest to navigate for clients

• the online signing format was not widely accepted

• it was Australian domiciled which led to confusion (remember you had to choose the right flag to be able to log in)

• response times to questions or operating issues took too long at the start (days not hours), and never reduced in time

• in non-technical terms, it was just a bit fiddly, and didn’t always work on phones or tablets

Generally, the majority of clients didn’t have a great experience, and usage has been reducing over time.

The New Solution

In the perfect world, we would have one system that does everything – document sharing and storage, and online signing, but in just the same way that our investment portfolios seek out the most appropriate fund for each element, we have found what we believe will deliver a far better client experience – one link for signing, and one for documents.

We’ve been trialing this recently, and have found that overall, clients find the new solution far more accessible and engaging:

DocuSign – for signing online

It’s the world’s most widely used electronic signature system – and is accepted by virtually every company or business we work with meaning that you can be assured they are also happy with the security aspect.  There will still be the occasional ‘wet’ (that is hand written) signature which we’ll need, but most of the time, it’s a case of click and you’re done.

When you next need to sign something, you’ll receive an email from us with the link to your documents to sign.  Where you need to take action is clearly highlighted (so no more paper stickies falling onto the carpet), and once you have set your signature up for the first time, it’s a simple case of :

read > point > click > next

If you have missed anything, it won’t let you move on, so there is no frustration of us coming back to you time and time again for a box which wasn’t ticked (typically confirming you were not a US Citizen).

If you forget to sign them, you’ll get a reminder email (probably more than one), so the chances of delays are reduced.

Your documents are held in a secure account which you can access, and we upload them to our system.

Dropbox  – for document storage and sharing

We’ve been using Dropbox as our cloud storage system for over a decade, so this is not something new to Serenity. We have ultimate confidence in Dropbox, being listed as the best 7 cloud storage systems in the UK – and being GDPR compliant, which means that your data is kept secure.  It’s also double encrypted and simple for users to navigate  – it looks just like a normal folder.

When we next share documents with you, we’ll send you a link to a folder called :

Serenity Document Store

There’s no complicated registration process, and again, it works on all devices.

In the Serenity Document Store (SDS), you’ll see the documents for the relevant year in a folder (and subfolders so it’s easy to locate what’s needed).  You can then review them and download them to your own location if you wish.  You cannot delete anything in the SDS by accident, so no need to worry.

If we ask you to upload a document – such as annual expenditure breakdown, we’ll send a simple link to enable this.  Every part of the SDS is aimed to be a simple as possible.

We always hold copies in our record storage for everything which is shared in the SDS.

What about your information on My Prosperity?

We have every document on My Prosperity stored in our private client files already so nothing will be lost.

If you want to save them, you can still access the system, and we recommend that you do this as soon as possible.

If you wish to have all of your information deleted from the MP server, you will need to send a specific request to them – just email us and we’ll send you the correct wording and address.  As with all online systems and businesses, simply by stopping using them does not require them to delete your data.

When is this starting?

Now!

You might already have received documents for signing and storage during the trial and soft launch – if you have, we’d love to hear your initial thoughts and feedback.

Going forward, there will be no new documents added to My Prosperity, and we have given notice to terminate our agreement for them.

As always, if you have any concerns at all, please do get in touch.  We’re sure this will simplify your experience and make life just a little be easier.