Data to be key differentiator for platforms

Speaking as part of a panel at the ifa Business Strategy Day in Sydney, YTML consultant Damian Murphy said adviser-facing platforms are going through a period of immense change, driven in part by the popularity of managed accounts.

Mr Murphy said the factor that will ultimately decide a platform’s ongoing success will be the way in which they utilise their data.

“Platforms are evolving and managed accounts is just one of those stories,” he said.

“Going forward, the winners will be the ones that are able to really optimise data with you, and looking at how data is gathered, how data is viewed, one of the challenges at the moment is that you just don’t have a single view of all the data for one client, so how is that problem fixed?

“That’s what many of the platforms are looking at.”

Mr Murphy added that platforms will become markedly different within the next few years as advisers’ propositions change to meet shifting client needs.

“Through our engagement with IFAs, we do get to experience what they’re using as a platform and how they’ve integrated the platform as part of their proposition to the clients,” he said.

“Our view is that where platforms are today is going to be very different to where they are in about three or four years’ time.”