Our regular round-up of the latest insights on investment distribution

Platforum Predicts…

All across Europe – including UK – we are seeing changes to regulation, demographics and what investors want. Firms continue to evolve their business models and the industry slowly alters course. Our last newsletter of the year covers our predictions for 2020 and...

From open to guided architecture

We’re seeing the initial signs of a rolling back of open architecture across Europe. Distributors are increasingly focusing on building overall ‘solutions’ rather than picking best of breed funds by asset class. They are also looking to limit the range of products...

Adviser platform growth over an uncertain backdrop

Adviser platform assets continue to rise – despite some major headwinds. In our recently published figures for Q3 2019, the total adviser platform market stands healthily over £500bn, of which assets relating specifically to financial advisers represent around...

Getting tough at the top of the D2C market

Over the past year, we’ve seen direct platforms significantly improving the investor experience and there are more companies that can genuinely claim to offer a top rate service. In particular, content and guidance have improved and new mobile features have been...

Platforms as a commodity

The long-term downward trend in UK adviser platform pricing continues. Headline charges have been trimmed over the past year and special pricing deals between platforms and advisers have driven overall costs even lower. For platforms charging 0.30%, and barely (if...