ING reduces fees, adds managers
ING has made a three-pronged improvement to its OneAnswer platform through the addition of 16 funds, a reduction in fees charged and an enhancement of the product’s online capabilities.
The enhancements were initiated by adviser and researcher feedback.
“We’re constantly in the field talking to advisers but we hadn’t really done much to our menu for the last 12 months, so this is a result of what’s happened during that period,” ING executive director personal investments Alexis George explained.
The additional 16 external funds now available through the platform brings the number of products on the OneAnswer menu to 67, consisting of 36 external funds, 20 ING funds and 11 Optimix Manage The Manager funds.
The new funds on offer are made up of four index funds and 12 non-index funds. Vanguard has supplied all of the index component, with the firm’s Australian and International Shares funds along with its Property Securities funds, both hedged and unhegded, now on the menu.
The non-index funds added include offerings from most of the major fund managers in the market such as AMP, Merrill Lynch, Colonial First State, AXA, and Credit Suisse.
“We now have a greater range of income-oriented, credit and fixed interest funds, that will allow investors to blend managers, funds and asset classes with even more flexibility,” George said.
The platform’s fees have also been reduced as part of the refinement process and have been made possible by economies of scale ING has created through its level of funds under management.
Fees on both existing and new business have fallen across the external manager offerings, in some cases by up to 23 basis points.
ING has also made a conscious effort to improve its platform administration and in particular move away from paper-based procedures. To this end, the manager has beefed up the online aspect of its platform services with a new reporting facility that will allow advisers to track their clients’ investments and asset allocations in real time.
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