Our regular round-up of the latest insights on investment distribution
Exploring distribution opportunities in continental markets
The largest European retail fund markets made only modest recoveries in 2023 after massive declines in 2022. Investors turned towards cash and domestic products rather than third-party funds. In Spain, the share of assets managed by foreign managers reached its...
Online investing star performers
Providing good online experience for investors is challenging. Managing ongoing relationships is more complicated than providing transactional services. Our annual investor experience research finds some areas of improvement and picks out the Platforum Online...
How Consumer Duty is already affecting adviser platform pricing
Consumer Duty has forced adviser platforms to take a long hard look at their charging practices. They will need to keep looking, according to our latest report for Platforum subscribers, UK Adviser Platforms: Pricing. Responding to the FCA’s Consumer Duty...
UK adviser productivity climbs, but advice gap remains a chasm
Strong demand for financial advice combined with a limited supply of financial advisers is an excellent recipe for buoyant income for the advice sector, even in the most turbulent years – of which 2022 was no exception. 2022 saw revenues from advice on retail...
Adviser platform announcements distract from a dismal quarter
Q2 2023 really was dismal for adviser platforms. Assets were up, but mainly thanks to SS&C Hubwise migrating Brooks Macdonald assets. Gross flows don’t look too disastrous, but were still down around 10% on the quarter and year. Net flows, on the other hand,...
The UK market for platform MPS is maturing
The platform MPS market is maturing faster than we previously predicted. Market volatility in 2022, regulatory changes and advice firm consolidation have accelerated trends that we’ve highlighted before. So competition among MPS providers is getting fiercer,...