Planners give platform providers a poor wrap
The platform industry is underperforming in key areas of service delivery to financial advisers, including accuracy of reporting and processing, according to a damning new report prepared by a Melbourne consultancy firm.
The survey, based on the opinions of 827 advisers from 12 major dealerships, found platforms are failing to meet expectations in eight of 10 categories nominated by advisers as the most important measures of platform performance.
As well as problems with reporting and processing, other areas where platforms were found wanting include the ease of transactions, redemption timeliness, staff competency and integrity.
“Failure to meet advisers’ expectations in these most important functions should be a signal for action to be taken to retain adviser support,” the report says.
The survey found 13 per cent of advisers had changed their main or secondary platform provider during the past year.
The findings follow on from a survey by Assirt last week, which found the number of planners prepared to use three or more master trust or wrap platforms has more than doubled from 19 to 41 per cent over the past year.
Of the major platforms assessed in the survey, which was conducted by W A Taylor and Associates, Macquarie WRAP, which recently won the Assirt Service Level award for best platform, was rated as the best overall performer. It was closely followed by BT and Netwealth.
According to the report, most advisers (44 per cent) were paid for using a platform by a combination of trail and service fees, while 25 per cent took a combination of trail and upfront commissions.
When asked what they were looking for from a platform, most advisers nominated a “good range of products” as the most important feature, closely followed by “ease of use for both advisers and clients”.
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