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.
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