Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Methodology 1
Executive Summary 2
IFAs are predominantly small businesses handling low case sizes of below £5000 2
Advisors view Aviva and Invesco Perpetual as offering the best level of service 2
Providers who provide a high quality wrap service will ensure their future success 2
Table of Contents 3
Table of figures 4
Table of tables 5
INTRODUCTION TO THE Q1 2010 SURVEY 6
The majority of IFAs are small, single outlet firms handling average case sizes of less than £5000 7
Advisors perceive some life and pensions providers as better levels of service than others 8
Aviva is rated positively by IFAs for its level of service 9
Standard Life is second to Aviva in advisor rankings for providers' levels of service 9
Invesco Perpetual continues to their reign for levels of service to IFAs among their asset management peers 9
Aviva, Legal & General and Fidelity are viewed more favorably over other providers for their quality of products 10
Aviva is viewed positively by advisors for the strength of their product range 10
Advisors also rank the quality of Legal & General's products highly compared to others 11
Fidelity remains popular among IFAs over other asset managers for the quality of products offered 12
ADVISORS' CURRENT AND FUTURE USAGE OF WRAP PLATFORMS 13
Wrap technology is the way forward for promoting and selling savings and investment, and life and pension products 13
Wrap platforms are an efficient means for administering the whole client portfolio 13
Wrap platforms have evolved from the funds supermarkets of the late 1990s 13
Datamonitor developed a definition for a 'pure wrap' that has become a market standard 14
Advisors are using wraps for their entire range of life and pensions products 14
Stocks and shares ISAs, and unit trusts and OEICs are obvious product choice that IFAs expect on a wrap platform 15
Regulatory reforms such as A-day has pulled Sipp investments onto wraps 17
The tax complexity of bonds and income drawing options are making a wrap service attractive to IFAs 18
Income drawdown is a natural choice for wraps over annuity products among IFAs 19
Pensions reform may attract more assets onto wraps in the future 19
Stocks and shares ISAs will continue to be the product that IFAs are most likely to distribute through wraps in the next 12 months 19
Future segmentation of the pensions market might draw IFAs to focus on high net worth investors for wrap platforms 20
Individual SIPPs may prove to be a less difficult sale as customers continue to desire a level of control over the way their assets are handled 21
Distributing SIPPs on an efficient wrap platform will give investors increased tax-efficiency and convenience 21
Advisors are not placing a priority to distribute annuities through wraps in the next 12 months 22
However, this does not spell the end for investment bonds 23
THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF UK WRAP PROVIDERS 24
The identification of advisors' needs is crucial in launching a successful wrap proposition 24
Advisors desire a full array of funds on a wrap platform to provide investment flexibility for clients 24
Competitive prices for clients is also an equally important factor for IFAs when using a wrap service 26
Providers must place less efforts in branding exercises and focus on delivering full functionality and quality service 26
Wrap providers must match advisors' expectations of full functionality through a wrap service 28
Advisors expect a full suite of financial tools on a wrap platform 29
Advisors still want even more products made available online 30
The full advantage of wrap is through placing legacy business on platforms as well as new business 31
Providers will need to look towards providing excellent wrap services to differentiate from peers in a consolidated market 32
Wrap platforms may have reached a proliferation peak 32
The emergence of IFA-developed wraps is blurring the boundary between manufacturer and distributor 33
Advisors believe that wrap platforms should be subjected to the same 'whole of market' test as investment products 34
Value-focused concerns keep advisors skeptical regarding wrap propositions 35
The magnitude of picking the right wrap proposition delays uptake 35
APPENDIX 36
Data 36
Definitions 43
Single premium policy 43
Regular premium 43
Wrap accounts 43
Product definitions 43
Life-based savings products 43
Life assurance 43
Single premium life 44
With-profit bond 44
Unit-linked bond 44
Income and growth bonds 44
Guaranteed equity bonds 44
Distribution bonds 44
Purchased life annuities 44
Other bonds 45
ISAs 45
Matrix-Data definitions 45
IFA firm types 45
Further reading 45
Ask the analyst 46
Datamonitor consulting 46
Disclaimer 46
List of Tables
Table 1: Currently, how much roughly of new business for these products do you conduct through wrap platforms? 18
Table 2: To what extent do you agree that you will be actively moving the products below onto wrap platforms in the next 12 months? 22
Table 3: How do you the importance of these client factors in using a Wrap platform to sell your products? 27
Table 4: What type of organisation do you work for? 36
Table 5: What is the average case size of the business you deal with? 36
Table 6: Please rate the following providers in terms of the level of service they provide to you? (1 being the lowest level of service and 5 the highest) 37
Table 7: Please rate the following providers in terms of the quality of products they offer? (1 being the lowest quality of products and 5 the highest) 38
Table 8: What proportion of your new policy business do you conduct through the following systems? 39
Table 9: How many platforms do you use? 39
Table 10: How do you the importance of these client factors in using a wrap platform to sell your products? 39
Table 11: How do you view the importance of these technical features in using a wrap platform? 40
Table 12: Specifically on online tools, which online tools would attract you to a wrap platform? 40
Table 13: To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding your wrap service? 41
Table 14: Regarding your existing client base, to what extent are these statements aligned with your strategy regarding wrap platforms in the next 12 months. 41
Table 15: To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the structure of the UK Wrap market in the coming 12 months? 42
Table 16: To what extent do you agree with the following statements? 42
List of Figures
Figure 1: The majority of IFA firms are sole traders in business structure 6
Figure 2: The average case size of IFAs are less than £5000 7
Figure 3: Advisors are positive towards Aviva's and Standard Life's levels of service 8
Figure 4: Advisors view Fidelity as offering the best level of service over other asset managers 10
Figure 5: Aviva is viewed positively by IFAs over their peers for their strong product set 11
Figure 6: Fidelity is viewed positively by advisors for the quality of products they offer 12
Figure 7: More than a third of advisors use only one wrap platform 15
Figure 8: Stocks and shares ISAs and unit trusts and OEICs are understandably popular on wraps 16
Figure 9: Advisors are likely to conduct more life and pensions business through wraps in the next 12 months 20
Figure 10: Advisors seek a wrap service with a wide array of funds and competitive pricing for their clients 25
Figure 11: Advisors consider timely valuation facilities as an important feature on wraps 28
Figure 12: Advisors seek a full suite of profiling, modeling and planning tools on a wrap platform 29
Figure 13: Advisors view their businesses to benefit from additional products made available on wraps 30
Figure 14: Advisors are planning to actively re-register their clients onto wraps in the coming 12 months 31
Figure 15: Advisors expect more consolidation in the wrap industry in the coming 12 months 32
Figure 16: Advisors perceive wrap platforms to be subjected to the 'whole of market' test 34
[Inhaltsverzeichnis ausblenden]
