Master trusts and wraps: Catalyst for change
The global financial crisis has taken its toll on the Australian platform industry, reducing the number of players by nearly a quarter.
The consolidation that has marked the funds management and financial planning industries is being reflected in the number of platforms now available to financial planners.
The most significant changes arguably flowed from actions of the major banks with NAB/MLC’s acquisition of the Aviva wealth management business and Westpac’s acquisition of St George Bank.
These transactions saw NAB/MLC gain control of the Navigator platform while Westpac/BT gained control of the Asgard offering.
The other key merger and acquisition activity impacting platform control and ownership over the past 12 months was the merger of IOOF and Australian Wealth Management, and then IOOF’s acquisition of the struggling Skandia business.
Australian Wealth Management already had on offer its AustChoice platform, while IOOF had its Pursuit and Lifetrack platforms.
At the time of its acquisition of Skandia, IOOF said the transaction represented an opportunity to increase the scale of its platform business.
The rationalisation of the Australian platform industry that has occurred over the past 18 months also needs to be seen in the context of Colonial First State’s rebranding of the Avanteos platform.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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