Investment distribution research
Trusted by asset managers, life companies, technology providers and platforms. Our insights inform propositions, products and strategy.

What we do
Platforum delivers research on a subscription and customised basis to asset managers and other organisations about retail investment services, in these key markets for fund distribution:
- UK wealth managers
- UK financial advisers
- Platforms and the other businesses that support the UK financial adviser and wealth manager markets
- Direct to consumer platforms
- Mainland European fund distribution

How we do it
Platforum gains its valuable insights into the markets it studies through the use of in-depth interviews with the key players, carefully designed focus groups and frequent surveys of target professional and consumer markets.
You can access our findings in the ways that best suit your needs: regular reports, direct conversations with researchers and group briefings. You can buy reports on a subscription or one-off basis.
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Who would benefit from our research?
The types of companies that will benefit from our insights include:
- Direct platforms
- Asset managers
- Banks
- Pensions providers
- Insurance providers
- Technology providers
Some of our recent newsletters:
D2C guidance: less conviction, more in-house
Most D2C services provide guidance in some way, frequently in the form of select lists and investment solutions – either ready-made portfolios or funds. Guidance is growing in importance. This is partly because it helps first-time investors – at a time that interest...
Changing dynamics in the UK adviser platform market
The adviser platform market is more sluggish and less competitive than one might have expected from the number of players and the greater ease of moving assets between platforms. A steady but slow decline in platform charges has continued in the last couple of years,...
‘Old’ and ‘new’ ESG: how financial advisers can help investors
The adoption of ESG by financial advisers is uneven across the UK. Many are still in reactive mode or deal with ESG with a compliance mindset. However, a small but growing number are making genuine efforts to educate clients. A key aim for this group of ‘ESG...