Our regular round-up of the latest insights on investment distribution
Guiding a new wave of DIY investors
The last 12 months have been transformational for providers across the retail investing spectrum. Adviser platform flows have picked up over the last two quarters but it’s online investing services that have seen a huge increase in demand. Where are these new DIY...
Long-term trends to watch in post-retirement advice
The nature of post-retirement advice continues to evolve following the shock of 2015’s pension freedoms. Systems can take a while to adjust to a new steady state after any big jolt – financial planning is no different. The long-term trend in the advice market has...
How Vanguard will disrupt the advice market
Vanguard has introduced another potential game changer with its advice offering, which it formally launched last weekend. Vanguard Personal Financial Planning is pretty compelling in terms of price, at 0.79% all-in. Detractors who favour full-fat financial advice...
Platforms versus back office systems – each has its place.
Over half of advisers tell us that their back office system is more important for the day-to-day running of their businesses than the platforms they use. Back office systems have now established themselves as the primary technology system in adviser firms, although...
Adviser platforms end 2020 on a high
Many adviser platforms suffered a noticeable downturn in new business in the second and third quarters of 2020. This was the inevitable knock-on effect of the downturn in advisers’ new business during the pandemic. Advisers have managed to keep hold of their...
Robust retirement PROD-ing
Client segmentation is incompatible with treating each client as an individual with particular goals, needs and circumstances – we hear this regularly from advisers. The regulator’s desire for advisers to categorise clients sounds great on paper, but advisers are...