17 Mar Standard Life Assure Intelliflo Support Despite Focus Solutions Purchase

Standard Life have claimed that they will be providing support for a wide range of rival back office systems, such as intelliflo, despite their recent purchase of Focus Solutions. The acquisition, which is believed to have been in the £40 million region, is intended more to boost Standard Life' s portfolio, rather than see them enter competition with other back office systems. They wish to offer their services, though they understand not every company will look to use them. Ross Dunlop, head of e-business at Standard Life: "It is IFAs' own choice what they use. Clearly we want to offer joined-up solutions going forward but we understand an IFA may just choose just Standard Life and not Focus or just Focus and not Standard Life. "We're not there to dictate that. We're here to offer solutions." Focus Solutions will still be maintaining its own brand and will be a seperate entity to Standard Life, allaying fears that it will become just a software support for other back office systems. Dunlop continues "Focus will be run for itself and it will be motivated to get IFA customers just for itself. "We need Focus to be seen as a separate company and to operate as that because if it starts to be consumed into Standard Life then we might as well do it ourselves and we'd lose the value if we did that."