BT Wrap platforms get a makeover

BThas enhanced the stable of products and services within its Investment Wrap and SuperWrap products, claiming to have tailored them more closely to the needs of advisers.

The enhancements include an expanded fund menu for both platforms and preferred portfolios enabling client strategies to be more easily established and tracked.

Other features introduced are nil transaction fees for listed securities trades through BT's Online Broker, straight-through processing for equities, access to external brokers and asset transfers between different plans.

“Improvements to Wrap’s functionality are driven by advisers who rely on it as the primary practice management tool,” BT Wrap general manager Mark Smith says.

A key change is the increased fund menu within the wrap products.

“We are expanding our fund menu to include over 200 funds for BT SuperWrap, and 320 funds for BT’s Investment Wrap,” Smith says.

“This amount is over double the combined offering of some other platforms and provides advisers with a leading edge when servicing their clients,” he says.

The preferred portfolio feature is an investment allocation tool that allows advisers to create, manage and track client’s accounts against a pre-determined investment strategy.

It also enables clients with a similar risk and investment profile to be linked within the tool to a pre-determined portfolio.

The changes were prompted by results of theAssirt2002 Service Level Survey, which measured the importance placed on different attributes within wraps and master trusts by advisers. The survey revealed that 38 per cent of respondents ranked choice of managed funds as most important.

The changes to the BT Wrap have come as funds under management in the platform have exceeded the $7 billion mark for the first time.