Websites and software for small UK financial advice firms
Senior-led engineering for FCA-regulated IFAs and wealth managers who want their online presence to do more than tick a box. Built for small to mid-sized firms.
Let's TalkSenior-led · Fintech background · Response within 24 hours
Your website is a compliance liability waiting for an audit query
A website is one of the few marketing assets a small advice firm has that works continuously - shaping how every prospect first sees the firm and either capturing qualified enquiries or losing them to firms that took it more seriously. Most adviser websites carry generic copy that could describe any firm of any size, with no sense of who the firm actually serves or what kind of advice they specialise in.
Building software for an FCA-regulated firm is not the same as building a generic small business website. FCA registration display, financial promotions compliance, Consumer Duty alignment, GDPR for sensitive client data, secure fact-find and onboarding flows, and integration with back-office platforms (Intelligent Office, Iress XPLAN, Curo) are all concerns that need to be addressed from day one - not bolted on later when something exposes a regulatory gap. Getting those decisions right at the start determines what the next five years of firm operations look like.
OLXR fits small advice firms that want their digital presence handled properly on an ongoing basis, with someone senior accountable who understands the FCA framework, and the option to grow into bespoke development - client portals, back-office integration, onboarding automation - as the firm scales. We are not the cheapest option for a quick brochure site, and we are not a marketing agency. Where the fit is right, we work the way advice firms actually operate.
Three ways we work with advice firms
Most firms start with Presence. Some come straight to bespoke when client portals or back-office integration is the immediate need. We work the way that fits your stage.
Why small advice firms work with OLXR
Direct contact with the engineer
You work directly with Owen - the founder, architect, and engineer building your system - from first conversation to launch and beyond. No sales team, no account managers, no junior staff.
Senior engineering, not junior delivery
OLXR is a senior-led practice. Architecture decisions, integration design, and technical trade-offs are made by someone with over a decade of commercial experience across financial services, fintech, and SaaS.
Honest about scope
Bespoke is only recommended when it earns its cost. If an off-the-shelf tool solves the problem for less, you will hear about it. Most of our work comes from referrals and repeat clients, which only works if the advice is honest.
Isle of Man perspective where relevant
OLXR is based on the Isle of Man. For firms with no IoM connection this is neutral. For firms with IoM, Jersey, or Guernsey client elements, expat clients, international trust connections, or offshore arrangements, the IoM perspective is a real advantage.
Direct fintech and financial services background
OLXR has direct commercial experience across fintech, banking, and financial services SaaS. The patterns that work for advice firms - secure data handling, integration with back office and platform systems, regulatory-aware design, audit trails, structured client onboarding, robust authentication - are familiar territory. We are not figuring out what COBS or Consumer Duty mean while building your website.
What a working IFA website actually does
A modern small advice firm website should be doing several things at once. Most fall short in similar ways. Here is what the firms with genuinely effective online presence get right.
Reflects the actual practice and its specialisms
Most adviser websites describe pensions, investments, and protection advice in copy that fits any firm - making every firm look identical.
Specialism (DB transfers, IHT planning, business owners, expats, vulnerable clients) should be obvious from the homepage.
Triages enquiries by need, sophistication, and complexity
Most firms send every enquiry to one inbox - wasting partner time on prospects below the minimum fee and slowing responses for the rest.
A form asking work type, existing client, assets band, and existing arrangements sorts genuine enquiries before they reach the firm.
Handles fact-find and onboarding securely
Most firms still capture identification, source of wealth, fact-find, and ATR through email attachments - slow, insecure, a compliance exposure.
A secure portal tied to the firm's back office handles onboarding properly and creates a meaningfully better first impression.
Integrates with the back-office stack
Most firm websites have no integration with the firm's back office - data sits in Intelligent Office, XPLAN, or Curo, the website in isolation.
The website can connect to back office and platforms (Quilter, Aviva, Standard Life, AJ Bell) for portal access, document exchange, and onboarding.
Carries financial promotions properly
Most firm websites carry general material that just about passes FCA fair, clear, and not misleading - some unwittingly cross into restricted territory.
The website structure should make compliant financial promotions easy to maintain, with review and approval built into the publishing flow.
Tells search engines what kind of firm it is
Most small firm sites are invisible to local search - nothing on the page tells Google what the firm specialises in.
Structured data (FinancialService schema), local SEO signals, sitemaps, and Google Business Profile integration fix this.
FCA, COBS, financial promotions, and what small firms get wrong
UK financial advice operates under the FCA framework, with COBS, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, Consumer Duty, and the financial promotions regime all bearing on how a firm communicates digitally. We are not compliance specialists, but we build websites and software with awareness of the framework so that compliance work is supported, not undermined, by the firm's digital presence.
FCA registration display and accuracy
Every page should display the firm's correct FCA registration in the format the FCA requires. Permissions described on service pages should not exceed the firm's actual permissions. Most firm websites get this broadly right but some have gaps - registration numbers in footers that have not been updated, claims about advice categories the firm no longer carries permissions for, missing or unclear Trading Names disclosure.
Financial promotions
Anything on the firm's website that promotes a regulated activity is a financial promotion under FCA rules and must be fair, clear, and not misleading. Past performance disclosures, capacity-for-loss messaging, and risk warnings need to be present where relevant and in the format the FCA expects. The website structure should make it straightforward to maintain compliant content rather than introducing problems that invite issues at audit.
Consumer Duty: what it means for the website
Consumer Duty (in force July 2023) layers four outcomes onto regulated firms; three have direct website implications. Consumer understanding means communications must be intelligible to the firm's target market - plain language, jargon explained, no information asymmetries that disadvantage clients. The FCA expects firms to test material with the target audience and document the findings. Consumer support means barriers to getting help, complaining, or switching must be no greater than barriers to becoming a client; the complaints procedure should be reachable in one or two clicks from any page, and contact details should not be buried. Vulnerable customer considerations translate practically into accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA at minimum), readable type, and alternative formats on request - particularly relevant for firms serving older or less-experienced investors.
GDPR and ICO cookie compliance
Financial advice generates substantial volumes of personal and sometimes special category data. Privacy notices need to reflect the actual lawful basis for processing, retention periods that match FCA-mandated retention requirements, and clear handling of subject access requests. Cookie banners that load tracking before the visitor consents are not compliant with the ICO's 2023 guidance.
Other UK and Isle of Man jurisdictions
IoM-resident financial advice firms are regulated separately by the IoM Financial Services Authority under the Regulated Activities Order 2011 and related framework. Channel Islands firms are regulated by their respective FSCs (Jersey FSC, Guernsey FSC). The technical work translates directly across these jurisdictions; the regulatory references differ. As an IoM-based consultancy, we have direct familiarity with the IoM regulatory landscape - genuinely differentiating for firms with offshore client elements.
What we do not do. OLXR is a software development consultancy, not a advice firm. We build technically compliant systems and structure content to meet the relevant regulatory framework. Specific compliance review (FCA registration display, financial promotions wording, privacy notice text) needs your compliance officer or external compliance consultant to sign off, not us.
Presence and what comes after
OLXR Presence is built for small firms that need their online presence handled properly without becoming another project to manage. For most firms, Presence is everything they need. For those that grow, it is the foundation the next stage builds on.
The digital foundation, done properly
- Modern, fast, secure managed website
- Hosting, domain, SSL all included
- Senior engineer accountable for ongoing improvements
- FCA registration display and financial promotions awareness built in
- Service pages reflecting actual specialisms and target client
- Secure document upload for fact-find and onboarding
Bespoke development around the foundation
- Custom client portal with secure document exchange and meeting notes
- Integration with Intelligent Office, XPLAN, Curo, or other back office
- Onboarding workflows that prepopulate fact-find and ATR
- Automated production of suitability reports and engagement documents
Strategic work as the firm grows
- Custom internal tools the firm has outgrown spreadsheets for
- Specialist segment dashboards (DB transfers, business owners, expats)
- Compliance workflow automation that supports the firm's file review processes
- Fractional CTO support for firms growing past the SaaS-and-spreadsheets stage
Most firms only need step one. But if you grow into step two or three, you have a partner who already understands firms like yours and your stack.
How working with OLXR actually goes
From first conversation to ongoing relationship.
Step 1
Discovery conversation
A 30-minute call with Owen. We learn about your firm and what you are trying to solve. No sales team, no preparation needed.
Step 2
Honest assessment
Within a few days, an honest view: whether OLXR is the right partner, what the work would involve, what it would cost, and how long it would take.
Step 3
Build or migrate
We build the new site or migrate and improve your existing one - properly, with the regulatory and operational considerations addressed from day one.
Step 4
Ongoing engagement
Once live, the relationship continues. Hosting, security, monitoring, content updates, regulatory compliance, and improvements over time - all included.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other sectors we serve
Many firms have adjacent professional services in their network. These pages may be relevant.
Start with a conversation
If you are evaluating OLXR as a potential partner for your firm, the next step is a 30-minute conversation. Tell us what you are trying to build or solve. We will tell you honestly whether we are a fit, what it would take to do it properly, and what the realistic costs and timeline look like.
You will speak directly with Owen. No sales team, no hand-offs.
Free consultation · No commitment · Response within 24 hours