The average number of funds on direct platform select lists has reduced by 10 in the last year. Some of the main cuts came with the relaunches of Hargreaves Lansdown’s Wealth 50 and Interactive Investor’s Super 60 at the start of the year.
Select lists play a strategic role for asset managers in the D2C distribution of funds. The proportion of flows via this channel remains significant, with one direct platform seeing more than 70% of its flows going into select list funds. Between 2015 and 2018 the number of asset managers featuring on select lists increased, but this number has since fallen to just shy of 80.
Select lists may be contracting, but there are more investment solutions available on direct platforms. 13 are now actively promoting their own in-house multi-asset or multi-manager funds, although some are more successful at attracting flows than others.
We’ve also seen a rise in platforms offering ready-made portfolio solutions. AJ Bell Youinvest, Interactive Investor and Willis Owen are the latest to launch ranges of risk-targeted portfolios consisting of a basket of hand-picked investments.
DIY investors are often overwhelmed by choice when it comes to selecting investments. To guide them through this maze, platforms recognise the need to cater to all levels of experience: those who value an open-architecture ‘do it yourself’ approach, those who need a helping hand and those who are happy to just delegate all investment selection to the ‘experts’.
Understanding the fast-growing D2C investing landscape is critical for asset managers and D2C propositions alike. Our latest report, D2C Distribution Dynamics, contains the key data and insights to better inform your distribution strategy. Click here to download a report outline.