Advisers are increasingly unsatisfied with the service offered by their platform provider, according to Defaqto.
Defaqto's Platform Service Review found adviser satisfaction levels were down 6 per cent year-on-year and 17 per cent of advisers changed their preferred platform in the last 12 months.
But despite this it found the percentage of advisers putting all their business on platforms has increased significantly and is up 45 per cent.
In terms of general popularity, the data found an increase for Aviva, Aegon, and Standard Life.
For the purposes of this research Cofunds and Elevate, which were bought by Aegon and Standard Life respectively, were treated separately.
Zurich saw a significant decline and there were smaller declines for Old Mutual Wealth and Elevate, with the latter possibly due to the change in ownership.
David Cartwright, head of insight and consulting for wealth and protection at Defaqto, said: "Because the respondents are scoring their preferred providers, one would expect the response to be generally positive.
"However, where low scores are cast it is a wake-up call to the provider concerned that their supporting advisers are dissatisfied with some aspect of their proposition to them.
"There is no strong correlation between those providers that achieve a large number of responses and a large number of high scores.
"Advisers choose providers for a number of reasons, not just good service, and whilst on balance advisers may be satisfied with their chosen preferred providers, there may be individual aspects of service that fail to make the grade."
| Satisfaction category | Importance | 2017 | 2016 | Change |
| Existing business administration | 1 | 81% | 88% | -7% |
| New business administration | 2 | 80% | 87% | -7% |
| Online services and ebusiness | 3 | 77% | 81% | -4% |
| Pension freedom servicing | 4 | 68% | 76% | -8% |
| Platform design and management | 4 | 73% | 79% | -6% |
| Reporting | 4 | 70% | 77% | -7% |
| Provider’s staff | 7 | 74% | 83% | -9% |
| Adviser charge administration | 8 | 76% | 81% | -5% |
| Technical assistance | 9 | 67% | 77% | -10% |
| Transition and implementation | 10 | 72% | 79% | -7% |
| Platform provider strength and brand | 11 | 75% | 82% | -7% |
| TOTAL | - | 74% | 81% | -7% |
Defaqto's service satisfaction survey showed most advisers continue to use more than three platforms in their businesses, while a massive 91 per cent of advisers put at least half their business on platforms.
When it came to the services advisers saw as being most important, there was no change from last year, with existing business administration being placed first, new business administration second and online services third.
But when asked about how satisfied they were with those services, advisers said satisfaction levels were down 7 per cent on the previous year, with technical assistance satisfaction declining most, by 10 per cent.
Gemma Siddle, chartered financial planner for Newton Aycliffe-based Eldon Financial Planning, said it was vital advisers carry out good due diligence and meaningful communication with their chosen platforms to find the best outcome for clients.
She said: "It is a constant challenge for advisers when it comes to analysing suitable products in a world that changes so quickly.
"Platforms often offer the lowest cost option and give flexibilities to clients that may not be available elsewhere, such as moving between tax wrappers quickly and at no cost.
"But when it comes to using them they don't always 'walk the walk'. It is easy to fall into the trap of using a platform 'because you know it' so a constant unbiased assessment of the market is vital to ensure the right product is chosen for the client's needs and circumstances.
"A well-structured investment committee will go a long way towards this."
Defaqto's survey of the platform market came as FTAdviser revealed Aviva's platform is still causing problems for advisers, nearly a month after its replatforming was completed.
There are still issues with the new client reporting function and there are technical issues which have affected payments for people in drawdown.
