Kelly Power

BT has enhanced its model portfolio offer for dealer groups and advisers with the introduction of bulk linking and rebalancing.

Since launching model portfolios in 2010 BT has been working with dealer groups and advisers to create even greater efficiencies in managing their client portfolios.

Research recently commissioned by BT shows using model portfolios can significantly increase client face-to-face time. In fact, model portfolios were shown to save over 75 hours per annum on regulatory compliance and administration, time that is now spent with their clients.#

Close to seventy per cent of Australian advisers are using model portfolios, the majority of which use them because they increase efficiency and simplify the review process.*

Kelly Power, head of platforms at BT Financial Group said “I am very excited about the continued improvements we are making to BT Wrap and how advisers are embracing them.

We do not take our leading market position for granted, and we are focused on enhancing our platforms; consistently offering market leading service and customer experiences.”

Summary of new capabilities for advisers:

• Rebalance multiple clients at one time – saving administration time
• Set limits at a model portfolio level and tailor for individual clients
• Monitor account requirements for rebalancing using tolerance reporting at the model portfolio level

Summary of new capabilities for dealer groups:

• Bulk link and rebalance clients to a model portfolio on behalf of the adviser
• Choose from additional adviser permission levels
• Monitor and track rebalances
• Monitor accounts with tolerance reporting

*CoreData, research commissioned by BT Financial Group

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In its tenth year, the May 2013 Planner Technology Report is an in-depth study of Australian financial planners and their technology needs. The study is based on a survey of 1,141 financial planners concluded in May 2013.

“At an industry level, planners’ satisfaction with their most-used platform increased for each of the 27 different areas that we measure,” said Investment Trends Senior Analyst Recep Peker. “Following last year’s record satisfaction, these increases have resulted in planners’ overall satisfaction with their platforms reaching the highest level we’ve seen in the ten years of this study.”

While platform providers have made many new enhancements in the last 12 months, the new lower-cost and flexible pricing models have been the most successful in driving planners’ satisfaction.

“netwealth had the largest increase in overall satisfaction, taking the top spot among platforms,” said Peker. “Planners interviewed were especially happy with its new low-cost Super Accelerator solution, with a number also citing international share trading and the availability of multiple insurance providers.”

The top three platforms by planner satisfaction were:

1. netwealth
2. Macquarie Wrap
3. CFS FirstChoice

“We find there’s a strong link between platform satisfaction and switching behaviour, and the most recent trends saw planners’ loyalty to their platforms reach a high point,” said Peker. “Only 19% said they would change any of the platforms they use if it were up to them, compared to a high of 32% saying so as recently as in 2008.”

Usability is the next frontier for platforms to address

As platforms address the gaps in pricing, the landscape of how platforms can help planners has changed.

“Especially for the past few years, the number one improvement planners have asked from platforms was more competitive pricing,” said Peker. “However, with the introduction of lower-cost solutions, planners now want platform providers to help with online usability, for improved business efficiency, better client reporting and review tools, which is mostly FoFA driven, and better adviser support.”

Westpac holds over a quarter of primary platform relationships

Westpac is the largest platform provider by primary planner relationships, with the proportion using a Westpac platform the most for new inflows increasing from 10% ten years ago to 26% as of May 2013. Westpac is followed by CBA which holds 19% of primary relationships, up from 9% in 2004.

On an individual platform level, CFS FirstChoice and BT Wrap are still the most-used platforms, followed by North and Asgard Infinity eWRAP, both of which achieved substantial increases to the number of primary relationships from 2012.

The four largest platforms by number of primary relationships were:

1. CFS FirstChoice
2. BT Wrap
3. North
4. Asgard Infinity eWRAP

Primary and secondary platform relationships now and ten years ago

The platform market has gone through significant consolidation over the last 10 years:

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“Since the launch of Wrap Capital Protection we have seen broad interest from advisers, including requests for additional funds to be available for protection. We’ve met that demand by adding over 60 widely supported funds to create a comprehensive and market-leading protectable menu,” said Rodney Greenhalgh, head of retirement at BT Financial Group.

Wrap Capital Protection is a solution with particular relevance for those approaching and already in retirement as it helps preserve capital when markets fall but provides opportunity for growth on the upside.
 
Recent performance has demonstrated how Wrap Capital Protection allows investors to increase their minimum outcome in rising markets.
 
“Equity markets have performed strongly since we launched Wrap Capital Protection and many of the early users took the opportunity to restructure their portfolios to their preferred growth allocation and they have benefited from this strong performance. 
 
At the time of the first growth capture in February the average growth achieved by investors in the protected funds was 9.1% and an average increase in minimum outcome of 5.0%, and those who had held the product from inception generally achieved much higher growth” Mr Greenhalgh added.
 
Advisers like the fact that they have a new tool to meet the needs of their clients who are particularly concerned about the impact that very poor markets may have on their savings, which is a common concern for investors around retirement.
 
Wrap Capital Protection is available today on BT’s Wrap, Wrap Essentials, SuperWrap and SuperWrap Essentials platforms. It provides transparent reporting and simple desktop activation.

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BT Financial Group has spent over two years working with advisers and investors to build a new style of capital protection that allows investors to protect their investment and also gives them flexibility and choice in how much of their portfolio they want protected and for how long. Investors also have the ability to make withdrawals or switch off the protection at any point. 

“Advisers and clients have been crying out for retirement products that preserve capital when markets fall but still provide opportunity for growth on the upside,” said Rodney Greenhalgh, head of retirement at BT Financial Group. 

“Since the GFC we have seen a flight to safety as retirees who saw no alternative turned away from market exposure and re-weighted their portfolios to cash.” 

Over half (53%) of Australian pre-retirees aged 50-64 are holding cash to protect themselves against a capital loss and 47% are only holding cash as a temporary strategy until the markets improve.* This is clearly understandable but it may mean that they miss out on opportunities to grow when markets perform well. 

Wrap Capital Protection provides comfort to risk adverse clients who want and need the opportunity for growth without the risk or eroding their original investment or the threat of being cash-locked. 

Mr Greenhalgh who is responsible for driving, implementing and executing the Group’s retirement strategy said “We have designed this in collaboration with advisers and investors every step of the way. What we have built is a unique capital protection product that is available on BT Wrap that is easy for advisers to use and gives clients a known minimum outcome with the opportunity for growth without the restriction of being locked-in.” 

Wrap Capital Protection is available today on over 80 existing managed funds on the Wrap, Wrap Essentials, Super Wrap and Super Wrap Essentials platforms. It provides transparent reporting and simple desktop activation.

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Statements for more than 200,000 investors were delivered by 11 October – 10 days earlier than last year.

BT Financial Group Head of Platforms, Kelly Power, said the achievement was the result of continued innovation and investment in the BT Wrap platform.

“Our commitment is to make the challenging end-of-financial-year process as quick and painless as possible for advisers and investors. We’re proud to be delivering on that commitment.”

BT Wrap was also the first major platform to deliver the first tranche of statements to clients.

BT Wrap’s new estimator tool, which was launched this year and which estimates when annual tax statements are expected to be delivered, was also successful with 91% of statements delivered before or on the estimated date. The remaining 9% were completed as soon as all prices and tax component information was received from external parties.

The tool uses a client’s investment portfolio composition to estimate when annual tax statements will be delivered. The estimates were made in July using fund manager and share registry estimated component delivery dates.

Other highlights included the 19,000 clients who chose to receive eStatements this year – the first year this service was offered. These clients had access to their statement at least 7 days earlier than others, and BT Wrap expects a further 10,000 clients to sign up for this service over the next year.

In addition there was a 30 per cent increase in the number of advisers accessing BT Wrap’s end-of-financial year tinformation website.

“As always we work closely with advisers and over the coming weeks we’ll be getting feedback to help further improve the process for advisers and their clients in 2013,” Ms Power said.

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The Estimator Tool uses a client’s investment portfolio composition to determine when they are expected to receive their annual tax statement. BT Financial Group Head of Platform Products Kelly Power said BT Wrap was committed to making year-end processing times and tax statement delivery as quick and easy as possible for advisers and their clients.

“BT Wrap is a leader in year-end activity and statement delivery because we are constantly thinking of new ways to improve our processes,” Ms Power said.

“We are beating our own statement delivery times year on year and expect to be first to market again this year with the first tranche of Wrap Tax Statements due out on 25 July 2012.

“We also offer our clients the option of receiving eStatements, which saves valuable time during tax season by reducing delays related to printing and delivery. This year, more than 17,000 clients have opted to receive eStatements and we expect that figure to almost double by the same time next year.

“All new tools and improvements to our year-end processes are borne out of comprehensive adviser feedback sessions to ensure we are delivering what advisers need.”

Since 2007, the number of clients on BT Wrap (including SuperWrap) has increased by about 47 per cent to more than 195,000 and in that time, statement delivery times have reduced by about 50 days.

This year, all Wrap Tax Statements and SuperWrap Annual Statements are expected to be delivered by mid-October, with more than 80 per cent of clients expected to receive their statements by the end of August.

26 July 2012

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This win follows a series of improvements to the platform, including the launch of market leading tax and trading tools just last month.

BT Wrap National Manager Nicholas Bowley was thrilled with the win saying it was the result of continued development and investment in BT Wrap and a great reflection of its continued focus on building a market leading investment platform for self-managed super funds.

“Our platform is about creating efficiency and value for advisers and their clients. This award reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring we are always at the front of the market.

“We work closely with advisers to ensure all changes are driven by and reflect their needs and the needs of their clients.

“In the last three months alone we have implemented a number of new features including changes to make it even easier for advisers to trade equities and managed funds and proactively manage tax outcomes of certain sales when trading.”

The judges said: “BT Wrap is a comprehensive, all-round product. This includes providing a combination of an extensive investment option menu and a comprehensive range of features, terms and conditions. These are supported by a competitive fee structure. Being the top player in the platform market, BT Wrap continues to develop market-leading features and functionalities. In particular its model portfolio tools aim to reduce administrative burden and to assist advisers to implement tailored advice for clients. Its new methodology boosts capital gains tax optimisation.”

BT Wrap is the largest platform in Australia with more than $41 billion of funds under administration.

Last year BT Wrap was named Best Superannuation Platform at the Awards.

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Head of BT Wrap, Chris Freeman, said the reports build on the enhanced Dealer Group DeskTop launched last year, as part of BT Wrap’s model portfolio offering, and will make it easier for dealer groups to support their advisers through better visibility of their total holdings.

“The latest product release demonstrates BT Wrap’s ongoing commitment to providing market leading platform functionality which has already delivered a market leading equities trading centre, bulk trading, consolidated order screens and model portfolio tools in the last 12 months,” he said.

“This week’s roll-out includes two new desktop reports and three bulk reports that will drive efficiency for dealer groups, their advisers and their clients.

“The reports provide a range of summary options, including the ability to view results across single or multiple badges, allowing the dealer group to provide better business-building strategies as well as support services such as compliance and legal to their advisers.”

“For example, dealer groups will be able to have immediate visibility of the impact changing a stock in their APLs and respond and tailor accordingly. Another benefit is managing the impact of a frozen fund or significant drop in a unit’s value. By having immediate access to their group exposure, as well as individual adviser impact, the dealer group can target advisers and clients with immediate information and support.”

Head of Distribution & Alliances at Genesys Wealth Advisers, Pia Zulueta, said the variety of reports will allow them to more meaningfully track their business and tailor support services to their advisers.

“With real-time data and a huge array of inputs the benefits will be multi-fold. As a dealer group we will be able to quickly identify trends, understand the impact of business decisions and correlate market data to our own. The visibility to the licensee and the support it will provide our advisers will be hugely beneficial,” Ms Zulueta said.

The Dealer Group DeskTop badge reports include:

• Total Wrap business report: A summary of total Wrap business across various products as at COB of the prior full business day including total funds under advice, average client balances and loans and breakdown of total holdings across managed funds, term deposits, equities and cash.
• Periodic summary report: A summary of movements in total Wrap business across pre-determined periods including opening and closing balances, total deposits, withdrawals, transfers and distributions.
• Bulk reports: A summary of monthly investment flows, clients holding

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Chris Freeman, Head of BT Wrap, said the agreement acknowledges Wrap’s continued commitment to working closely with DKN to provide its advisers with a market leading platform solution.

“The strength of BT Wrap is built around collaborative relationships with our partners, and DKN is no exception. We’ve been working with members of the DKN team for more than 10 years now, in fact since the launch of Wrap back in 1997, which is testament to the commitment of both groups to get the most out of this partnership. ” he said.

“We have a strong track record of product and service investment, which we know is a critical factor for groups such as DKN, who are looking to work with a partner who has the scale to invest in the platform. Our upcoming product development reflects the many discussions we’ve had with our partners, and DKN has been a keen participant.

“In particular, we are well into our three year program to build a market leading equities solution with our comprehensive model portfolio tools launching later this year, and we also have projects underway to build a fully integrated Cash Management Account on Wrap and overhauling the Wrap DeskTop to make it even easier to use.”

Phil Butterworth, CEO DKN, said the agreement reflects DKN’s commitment to deliver a market leading platform now and into the future.

“Our agreement with BT Wrap ensures DKN continues to be involved in the ongoing development and enhancement of the platform therefore delivering the most efficient, cost effective and well rounded solution for our advisers and their clients. Through this successful relationship, DKN have introduced pricing reductions across our full suite of platforms administered by BT,” Phil said.

“Our advisers have been very receptive to the recent platform enhancements including the new suite of insurance products and bulk trading functionality and eagerly await the roll-out of the model portfolio management tools.”

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