Investment research and fund ratings provider RSMR has launched a DFM Academy to help advisers with due diligence and selection.

The Yorkshire-based company says the academy is in response to adviser demand for extra clarity in the selection and use of DFMs and will add to its DFM ratings introduced four years ago.

The academy can be accessed via the RSMR Adviser Hub – www.rsmr.co.uk – and is initially supported by six Discretionary Fund Managers – Brewin Dolphin, Cazenove Capital, Quilter Cheviot, Rathbones, 7IM and Waverton.

RSMR director Geoff Mills said: “We want to provide more than our DFM rating and have bolstered our proposition by adding decisive content to help advisers in their selection process.

“We’ve included a DFM Profile for all solutions within the Academy, supplementing the existing DFM factsheet, and we’ve provided topical news and ideas from the DFMs, as well as videos and events for advisers.

“The nature of the DFM market means that a purely quantitative approach is not appropriate – indeed obtaining relevant performance and risk data is difficult due to the bespoke nature of the portfolios.  This makes our qualitative based approach all the more suitable, as we look in detail at how the managers run the portfolios and base our assessment far more on this aspect.”

Mr Mills added that other new developments were in the pipeline.

RSMR provides a number of services to advisers including fund ratings and research, conferences and bespoke research.