Cognitive assessment engine software provider Comentis has closed a funding round of £200,000 to enable it to grow its client risk assessment offering aimed at financial and legal firms.
The software, that helps organisations identify vulnerable and at-risk customers, is designed to support firms in meeting regulatory requirements, better align to ESG and impact objectives, reduce corporate risk and increase customer awareness.
Comentis’ Cognitive Assessment Engine (CAE) utilises technology to deliver the clinical expertise of mental health experts and psychologists to financial and legal firms during the client risk assessment process. The provider says CAE is a first of its kind for the financial and legal services markets, combining digital and clinical insight to produce a platform for users to mitigate business risks and better protect clients.
The CAE is hosted in the cloud and assessments can be accessed via application programming interface (API) or Comentis’ own front-end WebApp. The evidence-based assessment process also provides users with an audit trail.
The launch of Comentis follows mounting regulatory pressure in the financial and legal services sectors which requires professionals in these areas to better identify, support and protect vulnerable or reduced cognitive clients. This includes the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers published in Q1 2021, in which it estimated as many as 24m UK adults are currently defined as vulnerable. This has since been echoed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), confirming that it will consider client vulnerability when looking into reports of solicitor misconduct.
Comentis co-founder and CEO Jonathan Barrett says: “We’re living through challenging times – a combination of escalating regulatory pressures and a growing number of customers susceptible to vulnerability or reduced cognition means financial and legal professionals currently have their hands full. With the backing of our investors, Comentis’ clinical and digital-based solution will allow us to deliver solutions to our target markets at pace and scale, enabling firms to better identify and protect ‘at risk’ clients with cutting edge technology. The blending of the latest SaaS and cloud applications with clinical expertise is a first in the legal and financial markets, and something that we are confident will drive progress and improvement across the risk assessment process.”
Claire Barker, investor in Comentis, says: “For me, the launch of Comentis was a breath of fresh air in time of increasing pressure on legal and financial professionals to ensure that they have robust processes in place to assess mental capacity and vulnerability. While the tech does not replace face-to-face interaction with customers, and nor should it, it does provide a good base understanding to help advisers to navigate tricky scenarios, and will provide evidence of enhanced due diligence should they need it. Better use of technology is vital to drive financial services forward and Comentis is at the heart of that, so I am excited to be part of the journey.”
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