Liontrust, Brooks Macdonald and Standard Life Wealth are now live on FE Analytic’s Model Portfolio Comparison Service – FE Transmission, the service that allows advisers to compare performance data on leading model portfolios.
The three model portfolio service providers join Old Mutual, Rowan Dartington, Thesis, Vestra Wealth, FE Invest and 14 other providers on the unique service. Two other model portfolio providers are currently waiting to go live on the platform.
FE Transmission was launched in March 2016 in response to adviser calls for a tool which supports their due diligence process and drives transparency into the model portfolio assessment process.
Mika-John Southworth, director at FE says: “It is great to see the DFM community responding to the needs of the adviser community and the necessity for increased transparency in this space. DFMs want to offer the best possible service to advisers and their customers – and FE Analytics and FE Transmission allow them to do just that. We already have 22 providers on FE Transmission - just little over a year after launch, which just goes to highlight the commitment that these providers are making to put transparency at the core of their service.”
Demand for model portfolio service providers have shot up in recent years as advisers increasingly see the benefit of outsourcing fund selection and governance to model portfolio providers – giving advisers a chance to focus on spending time with clients and better understand those individuals and their unique financial needs.
Recent findings from FE’s debut adviser landscape report - Evolution and Experimentation: The Financial Advice Market in 2016 found that some 67 per cent of respondents said they use one or more model portfolio service.
Liontrust’s head of marketing and distribution strategy Simon Hildrey says: “Including Liontrust’s broad range of risk-targeted model portfolios on FE Transmission is another important step in expanding our distribution across the adviser market. We believe demand for investment solutions will only continue to grow and our multi-asset portfolios are ideally suited to meet different attitudes to risk, investment objectives and time horizons that are so important in enabling clients to achieve their investment goals.
“As advisers increasingly turn to model portfolios for their investment solutions, it is vital that they can compare the wide range available. FE Transmission is a key development in providing transparency and enabling advisers to have ready access to information and data on a range of providers and their model portfolios. We believe FE Transmission will benefit us, advisers and, in turn, their clients.”
Ronnie Bennie, head of Business Development for Standard Life Wealth adds: ‘’Standard Life Wealth is pleased to be associated with FE Transmission in the promotion of investment performance transparency. Financial Planners need access to accurate and timely investment performance information to help their clients stay on track and achieve their financial goals. The ability to compare Managers’ performance is a critical part of a financial planners’ ongoing due diligence.‘’
While DFMs continue to rise in popularity, advisers are reminded that the onus is on them to be on top of ongoing suitability should client circumstances change.