Aviva is in the process of upgrading the technology and services offered on its platform as part of its plan to offer stability to investors during uncertain times.
The platform reported earlier this month in its year end results that net flows were up 35 per cent to £1bn, the second highest for flows in the platform market, and assets under management grew by 54 per cent compared to a year earlier.
The platform provider has plans to upgrade both its underlying technology and the services it offers in order to keep up with increasing demand.
Aviva’s platform chief executive Tim Orton said that the company has focused on improving users’ experience with the platform by upgrading backend technology and providing more technical training to new and existing staff.
“We’ve been investing a lot in our service, so we’ve been bringing in more people and providing more technical training to provide quicker responses to advisers, and also in the core technology itself where the usability of our journeys is where we get some of our really strong feedback around the simplicity of the usage.”
The platform is in the process of moving the backend of its proposition across to the more sophisticated FNZ technology in an effort to improve client reporting and integration with back office systems.
“So we’ve been investing in our existing infrastructure and investing in the development of our platform for the future at the same time.”
Unexpected political events and their varying impact on the markets have had investors on edge over the past year, and consolidation in the platform market could have some advisers nervous about what could happen to the products they rely on for their business.
“I think one of the things that’s really paying dividends in the market at the moment, perhaps with Brexit or potential turbulence in the US in time over their recent political developments, is that stability is becoming really important.”
He added that the backing of the larger Aviva group and £11bn worth of capital has helped build user confidence in the product, but that acquisitions are “not something that’s on our agenda”.
“To have our platform backed by that is a really important factor for us and evidenced by that investment not only in our existing infrastructure but also in building out a stronger proposition for the future.
“It gives confidence to advisers that we’re here to stay and that we’re a platform to back.”
Scott Gallacher, chartered financial planner at Rowley Turton Private Wealth Management, said that it’s a matter of adviser preference whether they prefer to input client details themselves or have them uploaded by the platform provider.
“We’ve only used the Aviva platform a couple of times and whilst it was fairly user friendly I do understand that the adviser has to do a lot of the admin themselves by submitting things online, it’s not a case of simply sending them the forms to process.”
julia.faurschou@ft.com
