Some advisers look to industry funds as platform alternative
A small but increasing number of financial advisers are using industry superannuation funds as an alternative to using platforms.
At the same time as IOOF considers the future of both its own and MLC Wealth’s platforms and as Westpac seeks to migrate advisers and their clients from Asgard and BT Wrap to Panorama, Investment Trends has confirmed the growing use of industry funds.
Investment Trends research director, Recep Peker told Money Management that his firm’s latest platform research had confirmed the increasing use of industry funds by advisers with the level having reached 12% in the latest survey.
He said this was up from about 8% two years’ ago and attributed the development to advisers being both highly sensitive to cost and client bests interests.
The renewed focus on platform use has been prompted by the fact that IOOF has moved to acquire MLC Wealth including its platform business and as many advisers have been given January 2021 dates for their migration from Asgard and BT Wrap to Panorama.
It has also come as IOOF has told its advisers that their migration to the company’s white-labelled version of BT Panorama, Asset Administrator, will be completed in 2021.
In a message to advisers sent last month, IOOF stated: “As you may be aware, due to our partnership and scale, we have the only badge of BT Panorama in market asset administrator, which has a number of unique features available to our clients.
“We are working closely with BT on the migration plan of our badges to asset administrator including our transition timeline for 2021, to ensure there is as little disruption to you and your clients as possible.”
Netwealth joint managing director, Matt Heine, acknowledged that he was closely monitoring the situation given Netwealth continuing market leadership in the platform space.
However, he said he believed the primary reason for any consolidation which occurred was likely to be as a result of mergers and acquisitions.
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