OUT NOW
The Direct Platform Guide: More activity under the surface
On the surface there's not much movement in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sea but beneath the waves there are exciting changes. A market of 6.5 million active private investors in the UK are not unnoticed by providers. The RDR, changing consumer behaviour and the march of digital technology continue to disrupt this market. What are the opportunities and who is taking the initiative?
The Platforum has researched the D2C market for the second year and find the big fish are still patrolling but the smaller fish are also making waves – established D2C brands, stockbrokers, fund managers and discount brokers all have their slice of the (fish?) pie but so do a fresh wave of new entrants.
The Direct Platform Guide will be available to purchase at £6,500 +VAT. For further information please email Jeremy Fawcett.
Click here for more details
Corporate Platform Guide
Employee Platforms & Corporate Wraps continue to hit the headlines as providers launch and promote their services. The Platforum's preview Corporate Platform Guide brings together the latest information from providers, advisers, buyers and users to produce an up-to-date and reader friendly guide on this rapidly evolving market.
Thanks to our sponsors Mercer and Standard Life, this publication is available free of charge to readers.
Please contact Tina Harris for more details or with any insights you would like to share.
Adviser Platform Guide – Issue 8
Our ‘best-seller’, The Adviser Platform Guide is a must for any group wanting to understand and keep abreast of UK retail financial services distribution.
- As at Q3 11, total IFA platform assets were £168.02 billion
- On a like-for-like basis from 30 Jun to 30 Sep, adviser platforms shrank by 4.33%.
- We report AUA for AJ Bell’s Sippcentre platform for the first time
- 77% of new adviser business in Q2 11 was still written off-platform
- Pershing have re-launched their Nexus Complete platform services to advisers
- Despite market turmoil, there are now 12 platforms that have AUA greaterthan £3bn. In August 2010, there were only 10 platforms with over £1bn
- Nine platforms managed positive AUA growth in Q3 2011 in tough market conditions. Elevate and Aviva managed to increase their AUA by over 5% whilst the FTSE 100 experienced a fall of over 13%
- Momentum and price were the two principal drivers of movement on the Platforum Leaderboard
- AXA Elevate and Nucleus topped the overall Platforum Leaderboard, with Skandia coming third
- According to user feedback alone, Nucleus, Novia then Parmenion are the best platforms in the market today
- Nucleus has the highest proportion of advisers regarding it as their primary platform by AUA with 69.6% of their users telling us it’s the primary vehicle. Standard Life also features prominently with 61% claiming it to be the primary platform
- 41% of advisers use model portfolios today; 10.4% use third-party DFMs.
- This is on the rise with greater adoption anticipated over the next 6 months
This market is changing so quickly that we publish quarterly. An annual subscription, which includes four copies of the research, is £4,800+VAT. If you subscribe to both the Form Guide and the D2C report there are 'box set' deals to be had. Click here for more details.
COMING SOON
The (plat) Form Guide Europe
Coming in 2012, this report identifies the principal platforms in the major European markets. Whilst a pan-European platform is still in the making, more distributors and fund managers are seeking to make decisions at a European level. To date, there has not been one source of information about platforms in Europe. This first guide will identify the major players, assess distribution in each specific country, position each platform in its own sub-category (eg D2C, IFA, bank) and confirm their requirements from fund managers. Further details will follow shortly.
We find the market research useful, and when it has been applicable, we have used it to provide context in Board discussions.
Charlie Eppinger, CEO, Cofunds
As the platform arena becomes ever more important across the distribution landscape the research provided by Platforum is not only timely, useful and insightful, but is also market leading.
Jasper Berens, Head of UK Intermediary Sales, JP Morgan Asset Management
We've seen a number of reports on platforms - the UK Platform Report is the most detailed and informative, and is one I refer to frequently"
Simon Bussy, eBusiness Manager, Zurich
PAST REPORTS
Platforum D2C - Private Investors are back on the radar - February 2011
Published in February 2011, this new report reviews the current D2C platform market participants, looks at how the market is developing and what future successful providers must consider. Our partners Consensus Research conducted detailed consumer research to build up a picture about what today’s active investors think about this market.
With insights from Lucian Camp about this quickly changing market, The Platforum D2C is a critical piece of research for all groups wanting to sell product to or build platforms for today’s active investor who prefers not to see an adviser.
The report costs £6,000 +VAT. Click here for a full table of contents.
Well done - an exceptionally good report…I’m only part way through and you have not over-sold it! .
Hugo Thorman, MD, Ascentric
White Papers
The Platforum has authored several white papers. These include:
Stochastic Modelling Tools: A Hitchhikers Guide - View the paper here
Cash on Platforms: King or Joker? - View the paper here
Employee Benefits Platforms - View the paper here
