Advisers have revealed who they rate as the best performing platforms.

The results have been revealed by financial services research firm Defaqto, which conducted a major review of advisers’ opinions.

The company has published a review of the service provided, showing various ratings, including popularity and highest performance.

Using weighted satisfaction indices for each provider, Defaqto identified the top performers in 11 categories of service.

The top three positions for each service category were dominated by Parmenion, Wealthtime, Transact and Aegon.

See table below

Defaqto’s findings were that, in general, providers have failed to perform sufficiently well for the categories that were deemed by advisers as most important.

Platform service was below expectation in 6 out of 11 of the most important areas for advisers.

The top 3 most important areas - existing business administration, new business administration and online services and e-business - were below the expectation level.

Provider performance:

Number of 1st places in the 11 satisfaction categories

1. Parmenion 9
2. James Hay 4
3. Nucleus 4
4. Wealth time 3
5. Ascentric 2
6. Transact 2
7. 7IM 2

Top 3 places in the 11 satisfaction categories

1. Parmenion 9
2. Wealth time 8
3. Transact 7
4. Aegon 7
5. Nucleus 6
6. 7IM 4
7. Standard Life Wrap 4
8. James Hay 4
9. Ascentric 3
10. Old Mutual Wealth 2
11. Axa Wealth 1
12. Zurich 1

Source: Defaqto platforms report. See Defaqto website for more

The independent publication was designed to provide financial advisers with insight to help them benchmark their own personal experiences of platform providers, with those of their peers, enabling them to select partners based on service criteria. 

Source: Defaqto platforms report. See Defaqto website for more

David Cartwright, head of insight and consulting for wealth and protection at Defaqto, said: “In an environment where competition has increased in recent years it can be challenging to keep service standards at a level required by advisers and their clients.

“Our Service Ratings for platform providers give a clear ranking and identify the key areas that providers should be looking at to help ensure that advisers don’t move away from them as a supplier.

“Being loyal to a provider should be as a result of good and excellent service not as a result of it being too much effort to change. Providers should review this survey and seriously consider implementing real, tangible changes to mitigate any possible falls in platform business.”

He said: “This collective information helps the industry in continuously improving standards by creating awareness of what elements of service work well and what elements don’t with providers.”