Matching the right platform with your client base

With platforms reporting their quarterly results, there is a clear divide in the adviser markets they are targeting, according to platform specialist Recep Peker.

Netwealth, HUB24 and Praemium have all reported their results for three months to 31 March in recent weeks.

There is a variance in their target markets, with some focused on being the platform for everyone and others looking to reach high-net-worth (HNW) clients.

Netwealth is moving to focus its business towards high-net-wealth investors with its Wealth Accelerator platform for SMSF and HNW clients. In its quarterly results, the platform said it has funds under administration of $84.7 billion and saw FUA inflows of $5.2 billion in the March quarter. 

“Netwealth is very focused on being the leading platform for high-net-wealth and private wealth clients, and being a premium service for them to access wholesale funds and multicurrency options.”

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Recent developments to update the platform include a Wealth Exchange capability to allow advisers to view and update third-party data integrations, the ability to create custom client report templates, and the ability to submit buy/sell orders online for non-custodial holdings.

On the other hand, HUB24, which saw its funds under administration pass $100 billion in the quarter, is looking to be the platform for everyone whether that is HNW investors, low-balance clients via its newly launched Discover offering, or SMSF members.

The Discover offering was launched in November 2023 as a solution for low-balance clients who have less complex needs. The firm said it has been “well received by advisers and their clients”. 

For HNW clients, it has enhanced the platform with non-custodial administration and reporting capabilities integrated with HUB24 Invest for directly held client assets which is in its pilot stage and will deliver streamlined administration.

Peker, founder of SuitabilityHub, said: “They want to be the platform for everyone to cater for every stage of the client’s life cycle.”

Through its SMSF Access option, it is also focusing on options for self-managed super funds (SMSFs) via Class and NowInfinity which is enabling it to be a “one-stop shop” for SMSF members.

“HUB24 want to be a one-stop shop for SMSF establishments and investing; they want to keep people within the HUB24 ecosystem. 

“What you find is often a couple have an SMSF and only one member will be interested and engaged with it. If that member dies, then the non-engaged one is often tempted to wind it up, but what HUB24 is doing is offering various options to make it significantly easier for people to manage their SMSF and reduce the complexity so they can build it with whichever complexity level they want.” 

Finally, at Praemium, Peker said the acquisition of the OneVue platform from Iress will have one-off initial costs related to the integration but will provide positive opportunities for scale in the future. He also praised the hiring of Brett Marsh to lead the platform migration as he has over a decade of experience working at OneVue.

The OneVue acquisition will bring across $4.1 billion and bring total FUA to $57.4 billion.

However, it is experiencing outflows from its Powerwrap scheme related to advisers opting to switch licensees.

“The Powerwrap scheme experienced $53 million in net outflow. This was a significant retreat from the elevated $334 million in net outflows to the previous quarter. The risk remains that a small number of key advisers who have moved advice groups will transition their clients to a non-Powerwrap solution. Gross outflows from these transitioning advisers exceeded $700 million over the three most recent quarters,” said CEO Anthony Wamsteker.