Based on comprehensive face to face reviews of 25 leading master trust and wrap platforms, the ninth edition of the Investment Trends December 2012 Platform Report is an in-depth study of the investment platforms used by Australia’s financial planners. The report covers 463 key characteristics of each platform and its associated service offering, providing a unique insight into the competitive standing of each provider and emerging trends across the industry.

The report found that platform providers have been holding back on many aspects of developments until upcoming reforms and legislation is finalised and uncertainties around business implications are lifted.

“Legislative uncertainties and burdens have caused platform functionality at an industry level to grow at its slowest rate for the past five years,” said Investment Trends Senior Analyst Recep Peker. “However, even during this challenging environment Australian master trust and wrap platforms continue to evolve through in offering the right products and solutions to financial planners.”

“With the future of financial advice reforms (FoFA) requirements becoming clearer platforms’ focus is turning to improving planners’ business efficiency and helping them add demonstrable value to their clients,” said Peker.

“Platforms are well positioned for a busy 2013, with many reporting significant development schedules for the year ahead.”

Enhanced reporting and transacting
“During their reviews, numerous platform representatives told us that their 2012 developments have been focused on making planners’ lives easier,” said Peker.

“We found this to typically manifest in a number of ways, including improvements to client review reporting and transactions.”

When surveyed in 2012, financial planners said improved reporting was one of their most sought after enhancements from their most-used platform, even ahead of reduced platform fees. This is partly related to planners’ intentions to increase client contact and reviews and further their value add to clients.

Many platforms have recognised this, and as part of supporting planners they have developed tools to serve this purpose:

• Greater range of reports, and greater depth of detail within these reports
• Increased transparency and flexibility around fee reporting
• More efficient ways of producing reports, including bulk reporting and creating report packs
• Pre-scheduling of reports to run on a periodic basis.

Other tools developed by platforms are to facilitate more flexible and efficient client transactions, with portfolio management related enhancements including:

• Bulk client transactions and order management
• Greater flexibility in model portfolio functionality and better reporting
• Ability to add adviser service fees at a model portfolio level.

A notable development in this space is CFS FirstChoice’s new Record of Advice (RoA) tool for model portfolios, which allows planners to generate planner/dealer defined and customisable RoAs automatically for clients affected by bulk transactions.

“In the face of the looming FoFA legislation, tools like these help reduce the time it takes planners to review and service clients while helping manage down the cost of opt-ins,” said Peker.

“Ultimately these benefits will flow through planners and benefit end investors.”

Platforms are beginning to embrace to new mediums
Another area where platform development has been prolific has been in the availability and quality of technical resources and training available to planners over. Notable improvements include:

• A proliferation of educational webinars, videos, YouTube channels
• Intuitive and engaging simulation tools, available to both planners and their clients
• Smartphone and tablet apps delivering technical information to planners and education to clients.

CFS FirstWrap overtakes MLC Wrap and Navigator to become the new leader among platforms
Among full-function platforms (those supporting planners advising on a wide range of investments, including direct equities) CFS FirstWrap achieved the number one position in terms of overall functionality. The five top-ranking full-function platforms were:

1. FirstWrap
2. MLC Wrap & Navigator
3. netwealth
4. Asgard eWrap
5. Macquarie Wrap

Colonial First State FirstWrap jumped to the lead in 2012 and regained the crown for first place in the full functionality platform. FirstWrap also ranked first for product offering, transaction capabilities and accessibility.

Enhancements introduced by FirstWrap include:

• e-Post facility, a secure, online portal for advisers to submit scanned forms for processing through the platform
• Further improvements to its excellent model portfolio functionality, including reporting improvements, bulk trading functionality, blended models and portfolio fees at a model level
• Transitions centre, making asset transfers easier for clients and advisers
• Enhanced listed securities research, leveraging CommSec Adviser Services research features assisting advisers in client transitions.

HUB24 was the platform to increase its scores the most over 2012, deploying retail superannuation, retail insurance and group insurance in addition to SMSF enhancements and many other new improvements.

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