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IntroductionSynaptic Research is the online tool used by IFAs to conduct product research for their clients. Every click of the IFA's research process is recorded for audit trail purposes, thereby providing an accurate record of the methodologies used and the results of all research. Synaptic Insight is the online system designed specifically for providers, networks and large IFA firms to have access to this aggregated usage information. To view the Synaptic Insight User Guide, please click here. Synaptic Insight can produce full usage information for any product type and for any period since 1 January 2007. This software has been designed to give providers every data item possible without restriction, and in a format that can be interrogated by software such as Microsoft Excel. Because of the vastness of this data, and on some occasions the unfamiliarity of Synaptic Research (which is of course the source of all usage data), the output from Synaptic Insight can be a little daunting, particularly if the recipient of this data is not fully proficient at using software such as Excel. To assist providers with this data interrogation, Synaptic can now turn the raw data produced by Synaptic Insight into more easily understood statistics.
Data caveatAll statistics being quoted in this presentation have been derived using actual IFA research conducted via Synaptic Research. For commercial reasons, we have deliberately selected a very small sample of data, and wherever required, we have made any references to companies or contracts anonymous. SynopsisSynopsis is the name given to any service whereby Synaptic assists with the interrogation of raw data produced by Synaptic Insight. Synopsis is not an off-the-shelf product; instead this is a bespoke service aimed at product providers to get the most out of the usage data available. Synopsis could be a tailored one off PDF report based on the exact requirements of a provider, or might be a series of Excel based models to help providers make better sense of the raw data available via Synaptic Insight. This webpage is not intended to show everything available - as the range of possible variations is immense - instead the purpose is to demonstrate some ways in which Synaptic can help providers to better appreciate the behaviour and requirements of IFAs. Theoretically, Synaptic can produce statistics and analysis on every possible aspect of the IFA research process, as every click made is recorded within the research. Some examples of Synopsis are available via the buttons on the left-hand side of the screen. Distribution of businessThe image below demonstrates the type of analysis possible using the raw distribution data from Synaptic Insight. In this example, we have taken a tiny element of IFA research (investment bond research conducted between 27 October 2008 and 30 October 2008 only) to show the level of detail available. We have also mixed the order of providers and made the provider names anonymous for this example. This image shows some high-level information regarding the types of clients purchasing bonds during the period; here we have shown the average age and investment size. The new business total of £2,851,243 represents the total volume of unit linked investment bond business written via Synaptic Research during these 4 days. We have then broken this down for each provider, and calculated the average case size and market share for the period being analysed. This information would of course be more meaningful when analysing longer periods. We have also shown the number of cases written by each provider and the frequency of having a contract appearing in the top 10 (after IFAs have ranked products). Our standard distribution data shows the top 40 for each product type, but this can be extended if required. The selection ratio is simply a score calculated by dividing occasions selected by the occasions in top 10. This gives an indication of the likelihood of actually being selected. 
Click the image to see an enlarged version. Individual company statisticsThe image below demonstrates the type of analysis possible using the raw distribution data from Synaptic Insight, broken down to individual contract level. The top section shows some high-level information regarding the overall new business accrued by the provider during the period, and also details the volumes of business missed. There is also a section to show the new investments made into the individual contracts, and a further section to show some comparisons against the best provider of each benchmark. The traffic-light system indicates the relative success of the provider. Lastly, there are two pie charts to graphically show the market share taken during the period and the breakdown between the contracts. 
Click the image to see an enlarged version. Histogram chartsThe image below shows how we can demonstrate the typical investment amounts (or sum assureds, client ages etc.) over any period. 
Click the image to see an enlarged version. Feature selectionThe image below shows the frequency of IFA feature selections, using the raw feature data from Synaptic Insight. In this example, we have taken a tiny element of IFA research (investment bond research conducted between 27 October 2008 and 30 October 2008 only) to show the level of detail available. We have also removed many of the features selected by IFAs for this example. This information would of course be more meaningful when analysing longer periods and being able to view the full list of features. The top section gives an overview of the type of data IFAs use to filter unit linked investment bonds. The lower section lists every feature and shows the number of requests for each. The "loyalty bonus" feature is highlighted because this particular item (for this example only) was not available for 2 out of the 4 days, which would be confirmed in the raw data output. This detail allows us to pro rata the statistics. This exact information is also available for sector selections AND is possible for any product type. 
Click the image to see an enlarged version. Contract ratingsBy knowing the feature selection frequency (or sector, or both), we can create an indicative contract rating for every live product on Synaptic Research - these are intended for Synopsis only and will not be made available to IFAs. These ratings are effectively a guide to the likelihood of a contract surviving the filtration stages of Synaptic Research, based upon the known previous behaviour of IFAs. In producing this rating, Synaptic does not make ANY judgement to the importance of features. Instead the pro rata scores referred to in feature selection are used to weight the importance. The image below shows some sample scores we have calculated for unit linked investment bonds, based on the limited usage data between 27 October 2008 and 30 October 2008. The hit rate demonstrates the number of feature selections a current contract would survive, assuming IFA behaviour continues. These scores are possible by simply taking the raw data available from Synaptic Insight and mapping this to the latest product data available from Synaptic Research. Subscribing providers have the export facility in Synaptic Research making this mapping possible. In this example, Company B has 3 contracts with the lowest chance of survival; Company G has 3 contracts with the greatest chance. The ranked score takes the hit rate and converts this into a more meaningful score; this could easily be extended to show quartiles, quintiles etc. 
Click the image to see an enlarged version. Other possibilities
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Please click the Synopsis button for further information.