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Nov 15, 2024 | 
platforum.co.uk | Lottie Bussell-Ahern
Adviser platform assets continue to rise, but the Budget poses challenges, according to our latest UK Adviser Platforms: Autumn Update report. AUA was up in Q3, with some platforms achieving growth of 4% or more. However, flows have taken a slight hit – especially with ISAs, where flows have been particularly volatile since 2022. Digging deeper, the gap between gross and net flows is widening for several platforms, suggesting outflows as advice firms consolidate assets onto fewer platforms.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Scott Phillips |Lottie Bussell-Ahern
The UK pensions market is facing numerous challenges preventing individuals from maximising retirement savings. These include a lack of accessible advice, confusion over pension charges and features, and cumbersome transfer and consolidation processes. These obstacles can be daunting, leading many to disengage or make poor financial decisions.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Tom Browne |Lottie Bussell-Ahern
Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 15 October 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here. Lowest wage growth in over two years fuels interest-rate speculationWage growth in the UK has slowed significantly, with pay excluding bonuses rising by just 4.9% between June and August compared to a year ago. This marks the slowest rate of wage growth in over two years – only 3.8% when bonuses are factored in.
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Oct 14, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Momodou Musa Touray |Lottie Bussell-Ahern
Verso Group has completed its ambitious integration programme to unify its operations across advice and investment management. This marks a significant milestone, creating a scalable platform primed for future growth. One of the project’s major achievements is the launch of a new, enhanced investment offering to provide Verso’s clients and advisers with a broader array of services designed to meet investment requirements and objectives.
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Oct 14, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Nic Cicutti |Lottie Bussell-Ahern
Advice business Financial Life Planning has hired Paradigm Norton’s Rebecca Tuck as its new operations director to help drive the expansion of the business. Kate Shaw launched the firm around 10 years ago and has been running it on her own ever since. “We both got to the point in our careers where we are ready to do something different,” Tuck told Money Marketing.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Lottie Bussell-Ahern
When selecting platforms, advisers have to reconcile two opposing interests – the needs of the client and the needs of the firm. Platforms are products for clients, and they are the ones who almost always pay for them. But the reality is that platforms primarily provide services to advisers to help them look after their clients’ portfolios. The two purposes have different selection criteria.
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Sep 9, 2024 | 
platforum.co.uk | Lottie Bussell-Ahern
There has always been a tension in how advisers select platforms. On one hand, platforms are products, recommended to clients, who generally pay for them. On the other, they are services primarily used by advisers. Platforms therefore serve two masters, with subtly different requirements. However, a shift in perception is occurring, according to our latest UK Adviser Platforms: Platform Selection report. The ‘platform as product’ approach has dominated for some time.
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May 24, 2024 | 
platforum.co.uk | Lottie Bussell-Ahern
The UK adviser platform market seems to be on the road to recovery after a difficult couple of years, but some bumps still lie ahead, according to our most recent UK Adviser Platforms: Spring Update report. Indicators of improvement include total platform AUA growing quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. Most platforms have recorded positive net flows in Q1, compared with just half of them in Q4 2023.
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May 22, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Dan Cooper |Lottie Bussell-Ahern |Nita Patel
The financial services sector has welcomed the news the inflation has fallen to within touching distance of the government’s 2% target. The Office for National Statistics’ latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) shows the rate of inflation fell to 2.3 percent in the 12 months to April 2024, from 3.2 percent in March. On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.3% in April 2024, compared with a rise of 1.2% in April 2023.
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May 20, 2024 | 
moneymarketing.co.uk | Momodou Musa Touray |Emma Thomson |Lottie Bussell-Ahern
Abrdn has today (20 May) announced a more simplified charging structure, including reduced pricing, on its Wrap platform. These are the first changes made to the platform in four years. The key alterations are a 5bps+ reduction at all tiers up to £1m, a 15bps reduction between £500,000 and £750,000, simplified platform charging with one less tier and the removal of the product administration charge on Wrap Sipp. The price reduction will apply to new clients on Wrap from 1 May.
