How many advisers are happy with their platform?

The latest Investment Trends Adviser Technology Needs Report – released on Tuesday – revealed that out of more than 700 advisers surveyed, just 28 per cent rated their main platform as “very good”.

This was down from 30 per cent last year and 40 per cent in 2014, indicating a continuing trend of dissatisfaction that was exacerbated by the pressures of the COVID crisis, Investment Trends senior analyst Bailey Hao said.

“The challenging business conditions brought by the pandemic have undoubtedly put pressure on platforms to maintain high service levels to advisers and their clients,” Mr Hao said.

“While platforms serve advisers well in many areas, there is still significant room for improvement. Our satisfaction gap analysis highlights that adviser-facing support services should be a focus area – especially the call centre.”

However there were some areas of service in which advisers rated their provider more highly than others, with 49 per cent of advisers rating their platform’s transaction capabilities as “very good” and 44 per cent saying their platform’s ease of use was “very good”.

Around 42 per cent of advisers also gave top marks to their platform’s fee levels.

The report found that Netwealth was the top-rated platform among advisers, with an overall satisfaction score of 80 per cent. HUB24 was a close second with 78 per cent, while BT Panorama finished third with 75 per cent.

CFS FirstWrap and Macquarie Wrap scored equal fourth place with 73 per cent each.

Netwealth also took out the value for money category in the report, while BT Panorama finished first in the mobile access/app category.