Nucleus has launched its new model portfolio service, Nucleus IMX, after it was soft launched in 2020.

The AIM-listed adviser platform, currently subject to a takeover battle, claims the new MPS provides advisers and their clients access to managed portfolios at institutional cost.

It offers a range of 11 ‘spend’ portfolios, focused on providing income, and 12 ‘grow’ portfolios.

The investment portfolios have been designed along with an IMX portfolio modeller tool which is fully integrated into the Nucleus platform.

The portfolios have been built by the platform in collaboration with consultancy firm Hymans Robertson.

The IMX service will cost 15 basis points (bps), with the fund management of the portfolios costing between 20 and 36 bps per annum (inclusive of all estimated Mifid II costs), to give an all-in fee of between 35 and 51 bps per annum for a fully integrated managed portfolio service.

David Ferguson, chief executive of Nucleus, said: “For far too long, retail asset management and DFM services have been overpriced, oversupplied, and have tended to underdeliver for the end user. Financial Planning is about people, not products, and our analysis indicates the portfolio component can be done better and at much lower cost without simply going passive.”

Nucleus has been the subject of a bidding war in recent months after major shareholder Sanlam decided to sell its stake.

At one point four known bidders entered the race but this has reduced to just one (James Hay/Epiris) after Transact pulled out earlier this month.

Nucleus recently reported that assets under advice rose 8.1% for the platform to £17.4bn in Q4 2020.