Responding to the growing demand for direct equities, Australian Unity Personal Financial Services (PFS) is in the process of rolling out a direct equity policy for its adviser network.
While he acknowledged similar policies have been rolled out across other licensees, AUI head of investment research Jeff Mitchell said the direct equity option was a way of responding to changes to regulation and to clients wanting more control over their investments.
"The portfolio construction methodology is about recognising the risk around direct equities, but then enabling those advisers who are appropriately skilled to be able to provide it as a client option, in a way that is supported by the dealer group, compliant and cost-effective," he said.
With particular demand stemming from the self-managed superannuation fund sector, Mitchell said the direct equity portfolio would operate as more of an administration lever rather than a product, and that PFS was trying to be on the "front-foot" when it came client and adviser demand.
"It takes the adviser some way down the path towards the way a fund manager operates in their world, but not so far that it moves them away from advice," he said.
He added that the policy was live on the network but had not been fully implemented yet, as the pre-trade compliance technology was subject to beta-testing.
Investment Trends' March 2013 Planner Direct Equities report found that almost a quarter of new client money is going towards direct listed investments such as exchange-traded funds, shares, real-estate investment trusts and separately managed accounts.
The 526 planners surveyed said they expected client flows to listed investments to hit 32 per cent by 2016.
