Our regular round-up of the latest insights on investment distribution
Prospects for growth in platform MPS
Model portfolio services used by third-party financial advisers remained the fastest growing area for wealth management assets last year. The big question is: how much more has MPS growth got to run? MPS assets totalled a little over £80bn at the end of 2021,...
Asset managers and distribution platforms: a changing relationship
European platforms have dramatically increased their share of retail fund distribution in Europe over the past five years – they now control over a quarter of European fund AUM. Scale has helped the largest institutional platforms to develop value-added services...
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...
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...
‘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...
Retirement advice – product or planning problem?
We have seen a steady evolution in UK financial advisers’ propositions since pension freedoms with a tightening up of processes for clients in decumulation. This has included more cash flow planning, and greater emphasis on performing fuller and more proactive...