Are platforms becoming proxy advisers?
Platform owners run the risk of becoming "proxy advisers" if they make it too difficult for fund managers to get their products included on their platforms, according to New Zealand-based Heathcote Investment Partners director, Clayton Coplestone.
Coplestone told the Money Management Platforms and Wraps Conference on Friday, that when platforms applied prescriptive processes and filters which acted as inhibitors to the inclusion of funds, they were effectively usurping much of the work of advisers.
He said that in such circumstances, the platforms were becoming proxy advisers.
However Ausbil Investment Management head of retail, Mark Knight, said that while getting products onto platforms was tough, he was comfortable with the current arrangements.
"Getting a product on a platform can be tough, real tough," he said. "However it is a model that works and the barriers to entry are not entirely negative."
Knight said it was in these circumstances that fund managers needed to work at ensuring that their offering was best of breed.
Recommended for you
With the highest number of candidates in a year sitting the latest financial advice exam, a surge of new entrants are expected in the coming weeks, according to Wealth Data.
AMP has launched a range of five diversified index managed portfolios on its North investment platform, targeting a younger client demographic.
An NSW adviser, who advised over 120 clients after falsifying her financial advice exam results, has been permanently banned by ASIC.
ASIC has released the results from the latest financial adviser exam, the first to be run since changes to its structure earlier this year.