Our regular round-up of the latest insights on investment distribution
One-stop shops, best of breed or go your own way?
What tech set-up would financial advisers ideally want if they could start again with a clean slate and no legacy systems? That was the hypothetical question we asked for Platforum’s latest report, UK Financial Advisers: Planning Tools and Systems. We gave them...
The quiet revolution of ESG fund data across Europe
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented interest in ESG investing. This has highlighted a divide between the practices of large parts of the investment industry and the expectations of many environmentally and socially minded investors. There is a huge...
What digital investing services can learn from neo-brokers
A flood of new investors over the last 18 months has allowed us to analyse how people get started and which services they gravitate towards. The media narrative suggests cryptocurrencies and hot stocks have sparked an investing frenzy among young people, but it’s...
Platform pricing predicaments
It’s getting harder to benchmark adviser platforms on price. Platforms’ rate card pricing structures are relatively simple in isolation, but it’s nigh on impossible to compare multiple platforms directly – tiers, bands, flat fees, ad valorem fees all kick in at...
Bumps ahead for retirement planning
The post-budget landscape features much higher inflation and taxes – both of which will challenge investors looking for income from their pensions and other investments. Their asset managers, wealth managers and financial advisers now need to take stock and see...
Tax rises have a silver lining for the UK advice sector
Tax planning is a key feature of advisers’ propositions. It’s a major value-add for clients and helps justify advisers’ annual charging business model – as we discuss in the latest report from Platforum UK Financial Advisers: Market Overview.