Praemium SMA lands British deal

Praemium is rolling out its separately managed account (SMA) platform in the UK market, with its subsidiary partnering with Capita to make the platform available to advisers, wealth managers and financial institutions in the UK.

Under the terms of the deal, Praemium will integrate its SMA platform with Capita’s Enabler infrastructure.

Among the initial deliverables of the agreement is a requirement for Capita to review the process and technical integration of the two platforms, analyse the marketing and distribution potential of the Praemium SMA offering and outline an implementation plan for the initial launch.

Following completion of these stages, the parties plan to enter into an implementation and services agreement which will set out more detailed terms of the relationship over the longer term.

This agreement between Capita and Praemium replaces and expands upon the arrangement struck last year between Praemium and Synaptic Systems, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Capita.

Capita is a major player within the UK, and Naoumidis said that the deal is “an exciting avenue for our expansion into the UK marketplace”, which is expected to “provide existing and future clients with a unique alternative to current service offerings”.

Naoumidis pointed out that its SMA platform and V-Wrap, which are both included in the deal, also hold European licences.

Coming soon after Praemium’s establishment of a UK presence in October last year, Naoumidis indicated that once this latest partnership is consolidated, Praemium will look to opportunities within Europe.

SMAs are a new concept in the UK, with Naoumidis estimating the UK is around 12 months behind Australia and well behind the US in the uptake of SMAs, partly as a result of its financial sector’s transition from a culture of insurance sales to one that also focuses on managed investments.