Investorfirst announces new agreement with InterPrac.

Leading investment and superannuation platform provider, Investorfirst Ltd (ASX: INQ), is pleased to announce it has signed a Platform Distribution Agreement with InterPrac Ltd (InterPrac).

The agreement will see the HUB24 platform delivered as a branded platform for use by accountants and practices that are members of the National Tax & Accountants Association (NTAA). Practices with their own AFSL as well as authorised representatives of InterPrac Financial Planning Pty Ltd will have access to the badged HUB24 platform.

InterPrac will also utilise HUB24’s market leading managed portfolio technology to create Separately Managed Account (SMA) investment options for the clients of accountants using the platform.

Commenting on the agreement, Mr Andrew Alcock, Chief Executive Officer of Investorfirst, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as the preferred platform partner of InterPrac and the NTAA. Their unique business model required us to think outside the square to develop a platform that caters for accountants and tax agents expanding their services to include financial planning. Our flexible technology allows us to provide a leading solution for InterPrac and NTAA members moving forward.”

There are almost 9,000 member accounting firms of the NTAA to which InterPrac, as a long term partner, provides a wide range of quality business solutions. These include Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) administration, finance broking, financial planning and services for the establishment of companies, trusts and SMSF funds.

As an AFSL holder and member of NTAA ADVICE, InterPrac Financial Planning has over 90 authorised representatives with over $1 billion in funds under advice.

In commenting on the agreement, Mr Garry Crole, Managing Director of InterPrac Financial Planning, said: “We selected the HUB24 platform after major consideration as to what was in the best interests of our clients. Issues that were key for us included independence, technology, fees, product flexibility, and the fact that the platform can accept non‐custodian assets for an SMSF without imposing additional cost to the client.”

The white labelled HUB24 platform, provided with NTAA endorsement, is an ideal solution for NTAA member practices. It has been specifically designed to attract and cater for SMSF clients, in addition to offering a retail superannuation wrap account.

A second NTAA ADVICE endorsed Australian Financial Services Licencee, SMSF Advisers Network Pty Limited, has also agreed to utilise the new service.

Mr Phil Osborne, CEO of SMSF Advisers Network Pty Ltd, said: “The Badged HUB24 platform is an ideal administration service for our advisers. It allows accountants and tax agents entering the financial planning arena to have a service that is not aligned to any product provider, but provides wholesale access to term deposits, over 900 managed  funds, direct shares, Exchange Traded Funds, and model portfolios from independent research houses.”

The post HUB24 Platform selected for NTAA’s SMSF initiative appeared first on AdviserVoice.

We upgraded the Dalton Nicol Reid Australian Equity High Conviction Portfolio to four stars and downgraded the MCPM Core Australian Equity SMA to three stars. At the same time, we affirmed our ratings on 10 funds.

Standard & Poor’s Fund Services analyst Rodney Lay said: “Since our inaugural SMA sector review in 2010, the SMA sector has continued to grow, specifically by funds inflow, number of managers, the variation of investment strategies, and platform availability”.

“The sector continues to be characterised by concentrated, low portfolio turnover portfolios with predominantly large- to mid-market capitalisation stocks. This is partly a reflection of investor preference, which in turn partly stems from the visibility of the constituent stocks of an SMA portfolio. Investors have a preference for stocks they know and understand (generally larger market capitalisation stocks) and low turnover as it conveys the perception to many investors that the investment manager has a greater degree of conviction in their stock picks,” said Mr. Lay.

On the whole, the management of the model portfolios has improved as managers that we may have previously criticised have implemented improved processes. Specifically, the timeliness in which investment decisions are communicated to the various SMA platforms has improved. Similarly, the internal measurement of performance by the investment manager and the reconciliation with the actual performance of their model portfolios on each platform, so as to identify and address relative performance drift, has also improved.

“As a consequence of these improvements, what we refer to as SMA-specific risks, namely tracking error and relative performance risk between the SMA product on the platforms and the managers’ internal/unit trust equivalent has declined. We noted that the variation in performance between the SMA model portfolios and the unit trust version of the same investment strategy was generally negligible,” said Mr. Lay.

S&P Fund Services continues to view SMAs as an efficient access mechanism to managers’ investment strategies, providing stock, taxation, and cash flow visibility and providing a more efficient taxation structure for investors.

The post S&P: SMA Manager numbers on the rise appeared first on AdviserVoice.