Recent Published Studies

2010 - Back to the Future
The RDR, Platforms and Investment Advice – three reports from CWC Research in association with BNP Paribas

RDR is already changing the advisory landscape, platforms will provide the necessary technology framework; the provision of advice will be transformed from the current cottage industry to competent process, with the use of expert systems becoming standard practice.

When we set out on these studies, we didn’t appreciate how closely they are related. RDR will result in advisers firms being more professional, qualified in the areas in which they advise and more efficient. This means that platforms will effectively be mandatory – whether overt platforms such as Cofunds or Transact, or covert platforms such as SEI.

Advisers will either outsource the provision of investment advice or import the proficiency using expert systems. Comprehensive service propositions will become standard and will be supported by platform functionality and other tools.

Simplistically, the market can be divided between small and medium sized financial planners and wealth managers on the one hand and nationals and networks on the other. In many of the relevant behaviors, they are mirror images of each other.

Many advisers, typically those employed by nationals and or in networks, are behind the game on qualifications. Many of these also tend to recommend investment bonds on an indemnity commission model. On the other hand, the smaller financial planners have typically moved to an asset based remuneration model, employ platforms as part of their process and are ahead of the game on qualifications.

As firms seek critical mass and efficiencies as well as the necessary competencies to survive post RDR, the market will see massive merger and acquisition activity.

`For further details:

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