Researchers say that there has been a significant jump in the number of financial advisers using discretionary management services in the past year.

A recent survey by Defaqto showed that 43% of UK financial advisers have been outsourcing their investment proposition and of those 72% are using discretionary management services.

While the percentage of advisers outsourcing investment services in general has increased by just 1% over the past year, the use of discretionary management services has gone up by 27%.

Pensions freedom has accelerated the trend for outsourced investment solutions, an analyst said.

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Defaqto has launched an independent case study specifically on the theme of platform-hosted discretionary fund management propositions.

This is aimed at helping planners with the latest trends and developments in this space.

This CPD-accredited publication covers:

• The different types of discretionary services available on platforms
• The difference between services available on platforms as a combined proposition versus similar available directly from a discretionary service provider
• The regulatory framework and factors to consider for outsourced investment services on a platform

David Cartwright, head of insight and consulting (wealth and protection), says:

"The increase in the use of discretionary management services is significant.

"In response to this trend providers have been developing more and more varied products and services to meet the demand, especially on platforms.

"Our figures show that 76% of the platforms available to advisers now offer some form of discretionary fund management capability.

"In our latest case study we cover topics advisers should consider when opting for this solution, including guidance given by the regulator."

IFP corporate member Standard Life sponsored the report. The firm's head of adviser propositions and strategy, David Tiller, said:

"Pensions freedom has accelerated the trend for outsourced investment solutions as advisers are looking at ways to adapt their business model to respond to the new demands.

"We have seen significant movement, in particular towards discretionary portfolios as firms look at ways to increase scalability as efficiently as possible.

"I believe that advisers are increasingly looking to access discretionary expertise on their own platform as a way to deliver great client outcomes while at the same time reducing business overheads and risk to spend more time with clients."