Friday, 05 July 2013 09:50
Advisers increase due diligence checks on platforms
Some 65 per cent of advisers expect to carry out further due diligence of platforms following the recent platfom paper.
The Financial Conduct Authority's PS13/1 requires advisers to satisfy themselves that a platform service provider has met the requirements in the paper regarding remuneration and does not present products with bias. These requirements will come into force from April 2014.
Skandia questioned over 550 advisers and found 44 per cent of advisers say their work on platform due diligence is already underway.
Only 13 per cent have ruled out carrying out further due diligence this year.
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Advisers ranked charges as the most-important factor when considering a platform followed by platform functionality and reputation of the platform itself.
Areas deemed of less importance were range of funds, range of asset classes and accessibility.
Michael Barrett, platform marketing manager at Skandia, said: "There is now an increased onus on advisers to assess platform capabilities as a result of the platform paper. Despite the requirements not coming into play until next year, it is already clear that advisers are including this now in any due diligence assessments being made, in addition to the nine factors the FCA already require to be considered."
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The Financial Conduct Authority's PS13/1 requires advisers to satisfy themselves that a platform service provider has met the requirements in the paper regarding remuneration and does not present products with bias. These requirements will come into force from April 2014.
Skandia questioned over 550 advisers and found 44 per cent of advisers say their work on platform due diligence is already underway.
Only 13 per cent have ruled out carrying out further due diligence this year.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
Advisers ranked charges as the most-important factor when considering a platform followed by platform functionality and reputation of the platform itself.
Areas deemed of less importance were range of funds, range of asset classes and accessibility.
Michael Barrett, platform marketing manager at Skandia, said: "There is now an increased onus on advisers to assess platform capabilities as a result of the platform paper. Despite the requirements not coming into play until next year, it is already clear that advisers are including this now in any due diligence assessments being made, in addition to the nine factors the FCA already require to be considered."
• Want to receive a free weekly summary of the best news stories from our website? Just go to home page and submit your name and email address. If you are already logged in you will need to log out to see the e-newsletter sign up. You can then log in again.
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