Get on the right platform

As the industry continues to innovate, platforms are no longer viewed as the new kid on the block and are now widely recognised as a way of harnessing technology to meet the omnipresent challenge of the retail distribution review.

Platforms offer advisers and their clients a source of funds, investments and tax-efficient wrappers, all under a single umbrella. At the same time platforms can help advisers streamline their services, enabling them to continue providing holistic financial planning advice while still delivering value for money.

As the market continues to develop there continues to be much talk of consolidation, with the emergence of a handful of big players carving out the market between them as others fall by the wayside. Yet evidence shows the contrary is happening, with around 30 platforms in the market at the end of last year.

With many advisers now faced with making decisions about platforms, it is more important than ever that they take into account the changing regulatory environment and ensure their platform choice can continue to operate in the UK intermediated market post-RDR.

While there is no Holy Grail in platform selection, there are some common themes which advisers should bear in mind when choosing a platform provider. Advisers should be confident that platform providers have the ongoing financial commitment to the UK intermediary community and that they will continue to innovate and develop their platform solutions for the long term.

Typically many discussions about platform selection focus on the technology, yet it is important to remember that successfully introducing the right platform also means having access to the advice and support to address the ongoing, changing needs of the adviser’s business. This could include flexible training, tailored to the individual firm’s needs, and could extend to business support where needed.

Advisers need to consider a range of platform propositions which may result in working with several different platform providers to meet their evolving business needs and those of their clients. Assessing those needs and the offerings available to meet them is an ongoing process and something which will become more paramount as the RDR deadline moves closer.

In addition, as regulatory change sees the intermediated market move from a commission-based to a fee-based environment, this will undoubtedly signal a change of mindset. Many more advisers will be seeking to form links with a provider that can offer direction, user-friendly technology and local support, while at the same time ensuring they remain compliant.

Advisers should be able to select the solution that best fits both their own and their clients’ needs from the entire market. In practice this could mean advisers working with a panel of platform providers, segmented according to ongoing client needs.