Our regular round-up of the latest insights on investment distribution
Regaining influence – M&G acquires Ascentric
M&G has acquired the Ascentric platform this week. Its c. £14bn assets are either on the standard platform or a full white label option (such as Succession’s bespoke platform). At our last count, just shy of 1,800 adviser firms use Ascentric. So where will this...
Andrew Ashwood 29 May 2020
The institutional fund platform market: revolution of the invisibles
Institutional fund platforms have unexpectedly become a force that is set to shape the future of fund management – despite their being unlikely candidates for headlines even in the trade press. Once a mere appendix of a couple of banking groups in Europe’s...
Victor Garcia Priego 22 May 2020
£66bn wiped off adviser platform assets in Q1 2020
Adviser platform assets fell 12.1% last quarter to £480bn with just over £66bn wiped off the overall adviser platform market. Platform assets have, however, held up well compared to overall market falls – the FTSE All-Share Index fell by 26% over the quarter....
Andrew Ashwood 15 May 2020
Guiding retail investors into ethical investments
ESG or Socially Responsible Investing has been a hot topic in the institutional investing domain for some time and providers in the UK retail investment arena are starting to follow suit. Direct platforms have been cautious in their approaches. One of the main...
Cristina Puscas 24 April 2020
Direct platform select lists – five years on
Let me take you back in time to the start of 2015. Most of us had never even heard of a Coronavirus. Woodford had only recently broken free from Invesco and started off on his own. And nine platforms were offering investors fund recommendations via their select...
Andrew Ashwood 17 April 2020
Platforms versus back office systems
Adviser firms are increasingly using back office systems as the main hub for their administration and client relationship management. But a key challenge is that the integration between platforms, back office systems and other financial planning tools is far from...
Andrew Ashwood 27 March 2020