When it launched in 2009, Aviva famously sought to become the secondary platform of choice for advisers. More recently, however, it has become quietly ambitious, steadily increasing its share of business from existing users.It is winning business from new sources too. A fifth of advisers tell us low charges are the key criterion in selecting a platform, and Aviva’s competitive fees are a strong selling point.
In some pricing scenarios we run, its charges come out 25 per cent lower than the market average for both buy-and-hold and model portfolio investors with portfolio sizes of £50,000 and £100,000. Aviva does come in for some criticism on its functionality, however, with one adviser telling us of their frustration at its “inadequate online tools such as asset allocation models”.