New gaps identified in platform share offerings
Financial planners have indicated platform providers are not delivering well enough on their direct share offerings, with planner satisfaction remaining flat in 2011 according to a new report released by researcher Investment Trends.
Investment Trends 2011 Planner Direct Equities Report found more than one-third of financial planners preferred platforms over stockbrokers for direct share trading, but only 16 per cent of users rated the offering as ‘very good’.
According to investment analyst Recep Peker (pictured), platforms have improved satisfaction by fixing some of the shortcomings identified in previous surveys, but new gaps are fast emerging – particularly in areas around shares research, timeliness of data and pricing.
“We are also finding that planners are increasingly open to switching platforms for direct shares in 2011,” said Peker.
“With planners increasingly open to moving, platforms and brokers alike have the opportunity to compete for a growing slice of planners’ businesses through their direct shares offering”.
The survey also found planners were increasingly allocating to direct share investments and were recommending them to a wider range of clients, particularly those with self-managed super funds and over $100,000 in investible assets.
Peker noted planner confidence on direct shares was growing, but that client demand remained the most common catalyst to further advice on this asset class (cited by 37 per cent, but down from 52 per cent).
Recommended for you
Net cash flow on AMP’s platforms saw a substantial jump in the last quarter to $740 million, while its new digital advice offering boosted flows to superannuation and investment.
Insignia Financial has provided an update on the status of its private equity bidders as an initial six-week due diligence period comes to an end.
A judge has detailed how individuals lent as much as $1.1 million each to former financial adviser Anthony Del Vecchio, only learning when they contacted his employer that nothing had ever been invested.
Having rejected the possibility of an IPO, Mason Stevens’ CEO details why the wealth platform went down the PE route and how it intends to accelerate its growth ambitions in financial advice.
