scrolL
04
03
Q2
Q1
78%
72%
42%
39%
69%
68%
36%
39%
71%
68%
91%
86%
Mini-bond marketing banned
1 Jan
2021:
The outlook for regulation
17.9
%
78.2
%
93.8
%
0%
05%
10%
15%
20%
35%
30%
25%
2021
If it’s one thing the FCA took the most heat for last year, it was the continued failures of ‘mini-bond’ firms like London Capital and Finance, Blackmore Bonds and countless more. It managed to introduce an emergency, temporary measure to ban promoting “speculative illiquid securities” like mini-bonds to the mass-market, which took effect in January.
It was only set to run for a year, however, so the FCA issued a consultation on its intention to make the ban permanent in October. Then in December, the FCA confirmed proposals to permanently ban the mass-marketing of speculative illiquid securities - including speculative mini-bonds - to retail investors. That ban came into force on 1 January, 2021.
JAN
FEB
MAR
The FCA’s focus on vulnerable customers has been dragging on a few years now, having made it into its last couple of business plans as a priority.
We’re going to get some meat on the bones through a guidance paper early next year. Time wise, it’s still uncertain; the regulator’s grid, where it lists forthcoming work, has it listed to come between December 2020 and January 2021. The consultation’s page on its website just has it for Q1, so let’s say earlier rather than later.
Its first consultation on what guidance for recognising and responding to consumers in vulnerable circumstances should look like ran in 2019. It ran another from July to September this year, so expect the end-product to be pretty comprehensive, likely covering firms of all shapes and sizes, and vulnerable clients of all varieties too.
Jan
Vulnerability guidance drops
Back in June, the FCA released CP20/9 – a consultation on how independent governance committees could drive value for money in pensions. That closed in September. Among the proposals on the table were a new framework to simplify how IGCs could judge value for money – setting out a broad definition and three key elements of what constitutes value – as well as forcing IGCs to look at the wider market to see how their schemes’ costs and charges stacked up.
The original aim was a policy statement and final rules in the fourth quarter of 2020, but this has yet to materialise. It may come right around Christmas, but what will definitely follow is a discussion paper in early 2021, where the FCA is working with The Pensions Regulator on any more rules that might be needed across all defined contribution workplace pensions.
Jan-March
Pensions value under discussion
For fans of making sure non-advised consumers don’t get ripped off in drawdown, the FCA puts the hammer down on its Retirement Outcomes Review measures at the start of February.
The new requirements are a pretty big deal. They include forcing drawdown providers to offer DIY investors one of four investment ‘pathways’ depending on their life stage and financial situation, ensuring that the only way they can invest mainly is cash is by specifically requesting to do so, and giving new charges statements every year to anyone who has accessed their savings.
The scale of the challenge was one of the reasons why they were one of the measures that was kicked down the road by the FCA due to the coronavirus crisis – giving providers an extra six months to get their houses in order. Given the extension, there’s now less excuse when the watchdog comes knocking though.
1 feb
Pathways pressure
MAY
JUN
JUL
The FCA might have scrapped plans to do more work on platform exit fees, which was slated for next Spring but fell victim to Covid and a number of platforms cutting their charges of their own accord...but that doesn’t mean that platform-land has avoided new rules for 2021.
It's another area where the deadline was pushed six months, but from 1 February platforms will be forced to offer consumers the choice to transfer units in investment funds that are common to both platforms via an in-specie transfer, request a conversion of unit classes, where this is necessary to enable an in-specie transfer to take place and ensure savers moving onto a new platform are given an option to convert to discounted units if available.
Not always easy. Particularly given the rate platforms have changed hands towards the back end of 2020 in particular.
1 Feb 2021
Platform transfer time
The FCA’s consultation paper on introducing mandatory notice periods for open ended daily dealt property funds closed in November. Forcing investors to wait, say, 90 or 180 days, to get their money back could well help alleviate some of the liquidity pressures the sector has faced, but at what cost?
Recent Money Marketing data requests to the regulator have shown just what an additional delay it will put on investors; even those funds with notice periods already could see an average 76 day increase in wait times should the regulator opt for an 180-day withdrawal rule.
We’ll soon find out: the FCA intends to finalise rules in the first quarter of 2021. It might come towards the earlier end of that too, with other FCA documents putting the timeframe at “as soon as possible” in 2021.
Q1: Property funds
Pain or gain?
The FCA is pretty keen on getting new measures in to protect non-workplace pension consumers and promote competition, including a default option for non-advised consumers who do not or cannot engage with their investment decision. A data request went out, due for completion in October, that would inform a cost-benefit analysis, the regulator’s records show. How soon in 2021 can we expect a consultation paper? That depends, one website page reads in the first half of the year, another in the first quarter, so we may see it towards the back end of the Spring.
With some £470bn of consumer savings across 12.7 million accounts, it’s a big market to get a handle on. The biggest clues we have as to how the FCA will approach it come from a 2019 paper from the FCA where it opened up to the market for suggestions. What it found was very little switching, and significant variation in charges, even between similar products.
“To address these problems, we want to reduce the complexity of charges to make it easier for engaged consumers to compare products,” it wrote. The FCA did not rule out intervening on fees, and has already introduced a charge cap on default auto-enrolment funds. Could we see more pressure on pensions in the wider market?
Q1:
Working out non-workplace pensions
We’ve had the contingent charging ban. We’ve had the requirement to up qualifications. But we’ve had rather less on what good actually looks like when it comes to defined benefit transfers from the FCA. Anyone interested in the market might be glad to know that what will come next is unlikely to be more rules, but guidance on how to get it right from the regulator.
The guidance, the FCA says, is “intended to help advisers understand our expectations of them when giving pension transfer advice.” The FCA did already sets out some best practice and case study examples of suitable and unsuitable advice, but it also wanted advisers’ views on a new scheme data template and an updated version of the jointly branded FCA/TPR factsheet for employers and trustees on providing support on financial matters.
It issued a consultation on what that might look like and what it should cover, which closed in September, before scheduling a final paper in the first quarter.
Q1:
Pension transfer advice: yet more guidance
SEP
OCT
NOV
The FCA has spotted a significant loophole in the rules as the number of adverts for speculative investment schemes swells; authorised firms can essential sign off promotions for unregulated ones
Essentially any authorised firm can do so, without a specific process to follow to check is it competent to sign off on the unauthorised firm’s advertisement.
Instead, the FCA wants to tighten the regulatory framework for the approval of financial promotions with a regulatory ‘gateway’ an authorised firm must pass through before it is able to approve the financial promotions of unauthorised firms. The FCA would have to give it permission to do so first.
It might be a drop in the ocean in combatting the scourge of scams, but it’s certainly a start. After a consultation in October, expect an update in the second quarter.
April – June:
Financial promotions pass through
Another piece of work that comes off the bumper retirement outcomes review by the FCA is on value for money. It is lining up a discussion paper that will look to promote a consistent approach to the assessment of value across workplace schemes regulated by TPR and the FCA.
The latest regulatory timetable has a pretty wide margin for error on when this might happen. Timing is tentatively placed anywhere from October 2021 to March 2022. Other parts of the regulator’s website suggest both a discussion paper and feedback statement will hit desks in 2021, but let’s not bank on this one cropping up too soon in the year.
October onwards:
What do you mean by value?
DEC
APR
AUG
The year in regulation
Source: FCA
Over
1.8m mortgage
and nearly
and
1.6m credit card
personal loan
payment
deferrals
Due to coronavirus, this year we assessed
incident reports - of which
were
cyber-related
824
109
Issued
about unauthorised firms
715
Helped ensure firms paid over
to over
£135m
© Metropolis Financial Platforms Ltd 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
customers
32,500
for disclosure failings on enhanced annuities
consumer warnings
Received over
separate whistelblowing disclosures, covering nearly
1,100
separate allegations
3,000
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Home
scrolL
04
03
Q2
Q1
78%
72%
42%
39%
69%
68%
36%
39%
71%
68%
91%
86%
Plus ca change for pensions and financial advisers in 2020
2020:
Pensions roundup
17.9
%
78.2
%
93.8
%
0%
05%
10%
15%
20%
35%
30%
25%
2021
The big story for financial advisers who specialise in retirement was how little changed during this global pandemic.
In fact, the feeling that comes up is encapsulated in the French phrase plus ca change. Long standing issues are unchanged from the defined benefit market to Sipps as a gateway to unregulated investments.
Although the most important issues in the retirement space remain the same there is still a lot of road left for advisers to run. Here are the key facts and figures of the past year.
The big transfers picture
© Metropolis Financial Platforms Ltd 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
In October FCA rules designed to prevent another misselling scandal along the lines of British Steel came into force. These rules that many advisers are familiar with include the contingent charge ban alongside more stringent qualifications.
They also force advisers to compare a fund’s destination with a workplace pension and allow ‘abridged advice’ to triage out unsuitable candidates for transfer. The predicted effects of such measures like tougher professional indemnity insurance terms and a shrinking number of transfer specialists continues. In July Quilter Financial Planning stopped network IFAs doing transfers and Tideway had its permissions removed by the FCA.
Then in August Quilter exited some 97 advisers at the lower end of the productivity spectrum in the first six months of 2020. The adviser headcount flat-lined in the half-year period, despite new hires.
In September the watchdog said nearly 200 advice firms have left the DB market since it confirmed the contingent charging ban in June. Then in November there was news In Partnership pulled the plug on DB transfer advice. Members were told that mounting professional indemnity insurance costs and a higher redress limit from the Financial Ombudsman Service left the network with no other choices.
Transfers ceased on 1 July “with the determination to protect the network membership going forward”, the memos seen by Money Marketing showed. In December the FCA revealed survey findings from a data request to advisers who have advised on transfers from the Rolls-Royce DB scheme. It showed recommendations to transfer out of the Rolls-Royce plan were more than double those to stay in. The table below details the aggregated results of the data request sent to advisers who have advised on transfers from the scheme.
DB networks
Economic pressure from redundancies does not seem to have increased the rate of transfer quotations or completed transfers either.
DB transfer activity dropped to the lowest rate since 2016 over the second and third quarters this year.
Consultants Lane, Clark and Peacock latest quarterly index shows both the number of quotation requests and transfers that went through from 2014 to now.
The index is based on transfer data gathered from 81 DB schemes it administers.
This year has seen a significant fall in both the quotation requests and completed transfers compared to previous years (see table below).
On average just over one in four DB transfers or 27 per cent of them were paid out in 2017, 2018, 2019. Now only one in five transfers are being paid out in the context of Covid-19 and new FCA rules such as the contingent charge ban.
Completed transfers hit their lowest points since 2016 with 20 per cent of quotes paid out in Q2 and 21 per cent paid out in Q3. It appears the watchdog’s carve outs that permit a transfer on a contingent basis for either medical or financial emergencies are not being used.
The long-term drivers of the DB market do not look like they will fundamentally change anytime soon. This means more advisers will move out of the market as the costs to stay in it are too high.
On Sipps the number of providers that have fallen into administration, been bought or are subject to fresh legal action carries on.
In May Carey Pensions (renamed Options Sipp UK) won a landmark ruling it was not responsible for investment losses a former client suffered. It came as a relief to Sipp providers with any exposure to unregulated investments as many feared it could open the floodgates to claims.
Then in June the High Court ruled in favour of the FCA in a civil action about unauthorised pension services to consumers. The FCA’s case concerned the activities of Avacade Limited, which is in liquidation, and Alexandra Associates (UK) Limited trading as Avacade Future Solutions (AA). It also concerned their directors, Craig Lummis, Lee Lummis and Raymond Fox.
In mid-July the judge in the case recused himself due to a perceived conflict of interest but also dismissed the defendants’ grounds for appeal. The Berkeley Burke Sipp Administration ruling also popped up with the revelation that its appeal could have cost between £200,000 and £300,000. The size of the estimated appeal cost is the reason why a grassroots campaign to fund it failed. It seemed these three rulings closed the Sipp saga of the last couple of years centred on dubious investments and processes.
But three sources of uncertainty remained: a potential appeal of the Carey Pensions case, more potential cases in the pipeline and whether the FCA will issue updated guidance on non-standard investments.
Sipp cases saga continues
Of the three the Carey appeal is the one that emerged as the Court of Appeal granted Russell Adams permission to challenge a landmark Sipp ruling against Options UK Personal Pensions LLP.
Wixted & Co Solicitors, which represents Adams, say Lord Justice Arnold has accepted that the grounds of appeal advanced by the firm have enough prospect of success to grant a hearing. The case will now be listed for an appeal hearing at the Court of Appeal in early 2021.
Their statement adds Lord Justice Arnold found the critical issues raised in the grounds of appeal – and the excessive delay of more than two years in producing the original judgment by Judge Dight – compelling reasons for granting the permission. The Court of Appeal will now re-consider the scope of the duties owed by Sipp operators purporting to act on an execution-only basis.
It will also consider the true statutory construction of section 27 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and how it applies to Sipp providers.
Carey Pensions surprise
Fewer people took flexible payments from their pensions since the beginning of April HMRC figures show. This suggests there has been some caution around making withdrawals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Throughout July, August and September 2020, £2.3bn was withdrawn from pensions flexibly.
This represents a 2 per cent decrease year-on-year from £2.4bn withdrawn throughout the same months in 2019. The total value of flexible withdrawals from pensions since flexibility changes in 2015 has exceeded £37bn.
The number of individuals making withdrawals typically peaks in April, May and June at the start of the tax year, before dropping in July, August and September. But this year, withdrawals have increased in July, August and September. HMRC said this change in behaviour may be attributable to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (see graph below).
Drawdown investors in 2020
Next
Home
Question
Have you recommended to transfer their Rolls-Royce DB pension
scheme benefits?
Have you recommended not to transfer their Rolls-Royce DB pension
scheme benefits?
Have you facilitated transferring their Rolls-Royce DB pension scheme benefits as an insistent client?
Opted out of the Rolls-Royce DB pension scheme prior to receiving transfer advice?
Have commenced your firm’s advice process but have yet to be provided with
a recommendation?
Aggregated results
854
415
5
4
889
Change in transfer activity since 2014
Source: LCP
Source: HMRC data
Number of individuals taking flexible payments from pensions and value of flexible payments from pensions
scrolL
04
03
Q2
Q1
78%
72%
42%
39%
69%
68%
36%
39%
71%
68%
91%
86%
Brexit
2021:
Investment
outlook
17.9
%
78.2
%
93.8
%
0%
05%
10%
15%
20%
35%
30%
25%
2021
The Brexit transition period came to an end on 31 December 2020 and new rules came into force at the start of this year. Leaving it until the 11th hour, the UK and EU finally reached an agreement for a new trade partnership on 24 December 2020. The EU member states approved the agreement on 29 December 2020, followed by approval from UK parliament on the final day of 2020. But prime minister Boris Johnson admitted the Brexit deal falls short for financial services.
Platform transfer rules – 1 February
© Metropolis Financial Platforms Ltd 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
While 30 September 2020 marked the year anniversary of when the FCA’s assessment of value rules came into place, fund managers had up to four months after their reporting year to publish their first reports. The FCA is yet to conduct a formal review on how managers are meeting these new rules. Could it do so this year?
Reports are expected to demonstrate how funds offer value for money and explain how the assessment has been reached. Some fund groups have different year ends so they have the ability to publish a consolidated report.
Value reports
Following the Investment Platforms Market Study, the implementation of platform transfer rules will come into play on 1 February. Its goal is to make platform transfers simpler, by giving investors the choice of transfer units, being able to request a conversion of unit classes and make sure customers are given the option to convert to any available discounted units.
One of the first things chancellor Rishi Sunak announced was that no VAT that was due during the lockdown needed to be paid until 31 March. This can also be applied to VAT paid on any investments over the threshold.
Changes to improve the function of offshore Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products regulation has not yet been announced but it is expected to be at some point between April 2021 and May 2021.
Amendment to Priips regulation - TBC
31 March – VAT payments
Companies which needed to take advantage of government support to get through the pandemic will need to start repaying loans from 1 May. The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounce Back Loan Scheme offered financial help to smaller businesses with a 12-month repayment holiday.
1 May – loan repayments
This ambiguous time is when investors with money trapped in Neil Woodford’s Equity Income fund can expect to see some of their cash returned to them. Current administrator Link Fund Solutions has told investors that it expects some of the remaining assets might not be realised until mid to late 2021. Its fourth capital distribution was on 11 December 2020, which distributed £98.48m. When added to its previous capital distributions, Link has returned £2.54bn to investors.
Woodford investors waiting on monies - mid to late 2021
This one is EU specific now as it was removed during Brexit negotiations. If it were to still be in place, advisers would have had to make extra disclosures and had to provide evidence of sustainability risks associated with any investments.
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation – 10 March
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scrolL
04
03
Q2
Q1
78%
72%
42%
39%
69%
68%
36%
39%
71%
68%
91%
86%
Platforms – 2020 review
2020:
Platforms
17.9
%
78.2
%
93.8
%
0%
05%
10%
15%
20%
35%
30%
25%
2021
2020. What a year. While coronavirus dominated the headlines there was still plenty of activity going on in platform land to keep us on our toes. Platforms didn’t remain completely unscathed by the pandemic but after a turbulent few months many now seem to be back on track.
© Metropolis Financial Platforms Ltd 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Similar to 2019, merger and acquisition deals were aplenty last year. Rumours about platforms being put up for sale are no stranger to the sector. Some amount to nothing but more often than not something is going on beneath the surface.
Meanwhile, Quilter got underway with its migration to its new platform and Embark was given the go ahead by the FCA to acquire Zurich’s adviser platform.
But the process hasn’t been as smooth sailing for platform technology provider FNZ and its acquisition of fellow tech company GBST.
The Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into the deal and later in the year ordered FNZ to sell off GBST.
FNZ has since submitted a notice of application to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, while the CMA has admitted it has “identified certain potential errors” in its market share calculations. Watch this space for what happens next.
Back in February, (yes, we know it feels like 2020 had more than 12 months!), Money Marketing reported that speculation was running rife about Royal London’s Ascentric platform. The company did not rule out a sale of its platform and instead said it was exploring “a number of options” to help inform “its future strategy”.
The news came hot on the heels of small platform Wealthtime being snapped up by private equity firm Anacap Financial Partners.
But while a number of institutional players have been distancing themselves from the adviser platform market in recent years, Aviva reaffirmed its commitment to the space.
Talking to Money Marketing, Aviva UK savings and retirement chief executive Lindsey Rix said the firm is “very committed” and “very excited” about the market.
“We see it has got a great future ahead of it and it’s one of the key strategic priorities that Aviva as a group has articulated where we want to be able to win.”, she told us in March, ahead of the country being plunged into a national lockdown.
As the pandemic took hold, platforms realised - like many other businesses - that they had to change their way of working to adapt to the new environment.
New processes were introduced to allow for more digital solutions to support advisers in their roles. Companies sought to make more tasks paperless and provide functions such as electronic signatures.
If the crisis has proven anything, it’s that companies can move fast when they need to.
Although some things are also having to take longer than planned. Covid-19 prompted Quilter to pull the time and money levers for its replatforming project, as the company looks to avoid mistakes made by competitors.
The second phase of migration recently took place and the rest is expected to complete early this year.
In May, came the news we had been waiting for that Royal London was selling Ascentric to M&G. The vast majority of the process for offloading the platform was conducted through “digital means” during lockdown and the deal completed in early September.
We also discovered that Ascentric chief executive Rob Regan would be leaving the platform at the end of 2020 in the wake of its takeover by M&G.
After Anacap’s first foray into the adviser platform market, it set its eyes on the Tatton-linked Amber platform. The Wealthtime deal took several months to complete and we have since discovered that Anacap has aquired Novia.
And that’s not all. Standard Life Aberdeen has put Parmenion up for sale while Nucleus has had the likes of Transact and James Hay knocking on its door. Although, it wasn’t long into 2021 before Transact backed away from a potential deal. Transact’s parent company Integrafin has, however, snapped up financial planning software provider Time4Advice.
Not forgetting that investment manager and wrap platform 7IM acquired its first advice firm, adding £2bn to its platform through the purchase of Partners Wealth Management.
Now we come to think of it, 2020 was pretty quiet for platforms after all. We look forward to seeing what the rest of 2021 has in store.
Platforms timeline 2020
jan
3rd
14th
22nd
29th
31st
Platform drawdown feature ‘opportunity’ for advisers
AJ Bell launches pension account for £250k advised clients
AJ Bell direct platform growth overtakes advised arm
Quilter says its platform migration will be ‘military operation’
Nucleus inflows tick up as platforms ride out fourth quarter
FEB
5th
6th
7th
7th
11th
12th
12th
13th
24th
25th
27th
Platform due diligence tool launches for advisers
FCA identifies replatforming as key risk for platform sector
Peter Hargreaves looks to offload £550m stake in investment platform
FNZ reveals plan to create 200 jobs in Scotland
CMA seeks comments on platform tech merger
Platform industry net sales figure ‘worst since 2013’
Wealthtime platform lines up private equity deal Anacap Financial Partners
Speculation runs rife over future of Ascentric platform
Ascentric platform ‘not on Embark’s radar’
Standard Life dismisses talk of Wrap and Elevate merger
Embark gets FCA go ahead for Zurich platform deal
mar
10th
10th
17th
27th
30th
30th
31st
Aviva UK savings and retirement chief executive Lindsey Rix says the firm is “very committed” to the platform market
Platforms urged to accommodate investment trusts
Platforms face difficult year as coronavirus takes hold
Transact to offer paperless wrapper application for Isas
FNZ given five days to address competition concerns
Covid-19 accelerates Multrees ‘paperless’ platform bid
Advisers unimpressed by Transact’s ‘paperless’ efforts
James Hay chief executive Alastair Conway says platform keen not to revert to ‘old ways’ after Covid-19
Nucleus axes dividend amid coronavirus uncertainty
FNZ fails to allay CMA concerns for GBST deal
Platform chiefs demand equal shares in equity raisings
Covid-19 could impact timing of Quilter’s replatforming
AJ Bell increases advised customer numbers
apr
6th
7th
14th
20th
21st
23rd
Platforms show resilience in Q1, Lang Cat says
Interesting decisions ahead for unprofitable platforms
More platforms line up Sipp guaranteed income plans
Royal London sells Ascentric platform to M&G
may
14th
14th
20th
27th
Ascentric sale paves way for digital-first acquisitions
James Hay poaches from D2C Interactive Investor with appointment of Alex Kovach as its chief commercial officer
Nucleus reveals results of annual census
- Average client numbers fall by 33
jun
8th
11th
29th
True Potential head of distribution Emma Napier leaves for Bravura
Market upturn puts £4bn back onto Transact
Anacap eyes another platform buy with Tatton-linked Amber
jul
6th
21st
22nd
Timeline secures £1.8m as FNZ becomes investor
Nucleus continues to grow AUA despite Covid
23rd
24th
24th
Wealthtime deal ‘moving ahead as planned’
Advisers think there are ‘too many platforms’
31st
Watchdog blocks platform tech mega-merger
Record Covid trading volumes help Hargreaves shake off Woodford pains
Anacap eyes another platform buy with Tatton-linked Amber
aug
5th
7th
10th
Quilter adds £15m to replatforming bill as Covid-19 pushes plans back
Platform share prices rebound after rocky lockdown
‘Dead cat bounce’ for platforms?
11th
12th
13th
FCA keeps platform cash accounts in sights
13th
Questions raised over Hargreaves’ cash holdings
18th
Platforms look set to ‘emerge stronger’ from Covid-19
Advisers lose faith in The Aegon Platform
Bravura acquisitions spur growth but new deals ‘hard to predict’
21st
25th
26th
Adviser confidence in platforms up despite Covid-19
The Lang Cat reveals platform charges have come down in past five years
FNZ criticises CMA for merger ban
26th
27th
27th
Standard Life Wrap platform launches new services
28th
Hargreaves Lansdown’s Mark Dampier steps down
28th
Royal London completes sale of Ascentric platform to M&G
Vanguard UK platform reaches 145,000 clients on back of Sipp launch
Transact co-founder Ian Taylor announces plan to leave platform completely in February 2021
sep
1st
1st
1st
Standard Life adds DFM partners to Elevate platform
AJ Bell launches fund research too
Transact rolls out digital signature applications
4th
9th
10th
Nucleus warns clients of ‘HMRC refund’ phishing email
16th
Ex Aegon UK chief Grace joins 7IM as chairman
18th
Hargreaves boss bags share bonus worth £800,000
22nd
7IM buys first advice firm
Quilter platform migration delayed again
Hargreaves sees cash product boost after NS&I rate cut
Nucleus opens door to ad hoc adviser fees
Transact assets tick up despite pressure on flows
Quilter platform inflows dip ahead of next migration date
AJ Bell sees a surge in direct customers amid the coronavirus pandemic, outstripping growth in advised clients
oct
1st
8th
13th
20th
21st
22nd
Seccl poaches from Quilter, Ascentric and Embark to grow its management team
27th
5th
Nucleus acquires Open Wealth for £1.5m
Private equity firms continue to circle round Novia
FCA gives green light for Anacap Financial Partner to acquire Wealthtime platform
Ascentric reveals chief executive Rob Regan will leave the platform at the end of the year in the wake of its takeover by M&G
Tavistock Investments prepares to launch platform for retail clients
Platforms show resilience but not unscathed by Covid
Standard Life Wrap simplifies reports for advisers
nov
2nd
3rd
4th
9th
10th
11th
12th
FCA scraps work on platform exit fees ban
13th
Standard Life Aberdeen insists Wrap and Elevate will stay separate
Quilter’s platform marketing boss Jeremy Mugridge admits the firm “stood still for a number of years” with its platform proposition
Digital Wealth Systems launches ‘Digi’ built upon Seccl, the Octopus-owned platform tech firm
Standard Life offloads staff to FNZ for Elevate platform
Quilter performs second phase of migration to new platform
Parmenion up for sale
Standard Life Aberdeen removes Parmenion from Virgin Money role
18th
19th
24th
26th
26th
29th
30th
Embark brings together its pensions and platform distribution teams – jobs likely to be axed (no specific number at time of going to press)
Seccl launches drawdown illustration tool
Nucleus gets cash offers from Transact and James Hay
dec
1st
2nd
2nd
Home
Home
AJ Bell sees record increase in customer numbers
Nucleus private equity bidder Aquiline Capital Partners declares itself out
3rd
3rd
European platform Allfunds also backs off from Nucleus deal
Money Marketing discovers Anacap is ‘close to buying’ Novia platform
4th
10th
Nucleus completes assets acquisition of Open Wealth
Novia sells to private equity firm Anacap
11th
15th
Transact announces it will further reduce charges in 2021
Novia chief executive Bill Vasilieff tells Money Marketing that the firm’s deal with Anacap was a ‘meeting of minds’
17th
18th
