Big bank platform dominance at an end
The days of the big bank offerings dominating the Australian platform space appear to be over, with Netwealth and HUB24 once again confirmed as leading the pack in the latest Investment Trends Platform Benchmarking and Competitive Analysis Report.
The Investment Trends research found that Netwealth continued to lead the market for overall platform functionality, followed by HUB24 with the only big bank offering to make it into the top four for overall functionality being Westpac’s BT Panorama.
This represents a significant turnaround from the situation a decade ago when the offerings of Colonial First State and others were seen to dominate.
According to the Investment Trends analysis the top-ranking full-function platforms were
- Netwealth
- HUB24
- BT Panorama
- Praemium
- OneVue
Investment Trends gave a special mention to Macquarie Wrap’s Digital Portfolio Manager which it said was helping advisers deliver affordable scalable advice.
As well, it said that managed accounts remained a key development area for platforms as the solutions continued to gain popularity among financial planners.
Investment Trends senior analyst, King Loong Choi, said platforms were aware that more financial advisers were starting to use managed accounts, while existing users were using the solutions more extensively.
“As a result, improvements in the last 12 months focused on helping both new entrants and also model managers who demand greater flexibility and functionality,” he said.
Recommended for you
Sequoia Financial Group has declined by five financial advisers in the past week, four of whom have opened up a new AFSL, according to Wealth Data.
Insignia Financial chief executive Scott Hartley has detailed whether the firm will be selecting an exclusive bidder for the second phase of due diligence as it awaits revised bids from three private equity players.
Insignia Financial has reported a statutory net loss after tax of $17 million in its first half results, although the firm has noted cost optimisation means this is an improvement from a $50 million loss last year.
With alternative funds being described as “impossible” for fund managers to target towards advisers without the support of BDMs for education, Money Management explores the evolving nature of the distribution role.
