Premier Miton has launched its adviser platform, allowing IFAs to hold and manage their clients’ investments in the asset manager’s fund range through an online portal.
FTAdviser can reveal that following a year of delays, the newly merged fund house has launched Connect — the free online platform for Premier Miton funds.
The Connect service was first announced in early 2018 and was meant to launch that year, but last September Mike O’Shea, chief executive of then-Premier Asset Management, told FTAdviser the service would launch in 2019.
After further delays, the service was launched in March. Mike O’Shea, chief executive officer of Premier Miton, said Connect provided a “valuable service” for advisers, adding it would be particularly benefit for advisers’ clients hold Premier Miton’s multi-asset funds.
He added: “Connect is an important development in our ongoing commitment to deliver high levels of service and added value to clients in our funds and their advisers.”
The portal initially offers advisers access to funds via a general investment account and an Isa, but a pension and bond offering will be launched at a later date.
Connect currently only provides access to all Premier-named funds — including 16 multi-asset funds — but Miton-named funds will be added to the service as soon as possible.
Premier Miton Investors launched in November last year after plans to merge were announced at the beginning of September.
At the time the move created an £11.5bn fund house, but its Aum has slipped to £9.1bn as at March 31 this year as hefty market falls due to the coronavirus crisis hit its assets.
Connect also provides a range of online features such as portfolio reporting, client illustrations, the ability to pay dividends directly into a client’s bank account and resources to facilitate adviser charging.
Mike Barrett, director at consultancy firm the Lang Cat, said the launch was a “sensible move” from Premier Miton.
He said: “One of the things we’ve seen the past couple of years is advisers taking a segmented approach to their investment proposition, especially as Prod rules put them down that path.
“If an adviser goes through the process and decides the Premier Miton range is the best solution then Connect is the cheapest and best way for the adviser to process that.”
Mr Barrett added that if the Premier Miton funds were held on a third-party platform, which charged 20 to 30 basis points for holding it, then it was hard to see what the client gained from that.
imogen.tew@ft.com
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