Macquarie Portfolio Services will launch its own version of a low cost platform in August, which will offer minimum investment levels of only $2,000 to access the platform.
The news follows on fromBT’s announcement last week that its cut down wrap service was being rolled out.
Macquarie Wrap Solutionshead of product and marketing Matthew Rady says while the cut down wrap is nearly complete, it will be rolled out to advisers at the start of the new financial year.
“The end of the financial year is a busy time for advisers to consider new products and with a roll out in August, we can also expect much better take up by the advisory market,” Rady says.
The wrap will work off the back of the Macquarie Investment Manager wrap platform but will be called the Investment Accumulator and will, like similar lower cost products, offer a restricted investment menu of about 120 managed funds.
Rady says the new wrap offering has removed listed equity investments and fund vehicles, such as hedge funds, to create the reduced investment menu.
About 10 per cent of the funds will be from Macquarie, with the rest based on adviser demand. Details of model portfolios still have to be finalised with third party research groups, says Rady.
The low cost wrap will also offer a single, flat fee structure which has yet to be fully released but has made one of the most dramatic moves in the space by offering a $2,000 minimum investment, down from $50,000 in the full service wrap, while still offering access to wholesale funds.
Advisers will be remunerated through a dial-up fee that will be removed from a cash account built into the new wrap. They will also be able to offer investments in super and non-super, as well as badge the product.
Rady says these features will allow advisers to use the platform with clients who may only have a single portfolio holding, whom they may not have considered putting into their wrap service.
