Aussie advisers ‘addicted to platforms’

Treysta head of wealth management Mark Nagle said the increasing adviser demand for platforms is having an adverse effect on creativity within the industry. 

“There is an addiction to platforms within Australia and there has been some stifling of innovation around this because the market is dominated by big institutions,” Mr Nagle told ifa.

“In the US, platforms have been surpassed because new technology has come through so advisers can operate more efficiently.”

These comments come as BT’s Panorama platform continues to gain traction in the market.

More than 1,000 advisers have joined since Panorama's launch in 2014 and, according to a BT spokesperson, IFAs have the largest appetite.

“Sixty per cent of the flows are from new relationships that indicate that the majority must be IFAs,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Nagle said this came as no surprise to him.

“We don’t use platforms wherever possible and we’ve been able to save our clients that additional cost. On the occasion we do utilise platforms they are not institutionally aligned and we are therefore not conflicted by them,” he said.

“From an institution perspective use of their platforms still serves as a gateway to distribute product and that is where conflict can exist.”

This week BT Financial Group (BTFG) chief executive Brad Cooper said the Panorama platform was resonating both with the 1,363 advisers on board as well as with clients.

“We launched a new managed portfolio facility which was very well received at our national BT Adviser Forums,” he said.

Panorama is currently in year two of the delivery of a five-year schedule. According to the BTFG half-yearly results, expenses were driven up by $3 million compared with the same period last year due to investment in the platform and a rise in planner numbers.