BT Panorama adds tailored managed accounts

BT Panorama has expanded its managed account offering with a pair of product suites that have been personalised for The Gild Group and Thornton.

According to the platform, there are 372 managed portfolios on BT Panorama, with the funds under administration held in managed accounts comprising 15 per cent of the $104 billion of total FUA on the platform.

Gild Wealth, which is the financial planning arm of The Gild Group, is undertaking an interstate expansion, adding offices in NSW and Queensland in addition to its offices in Melbourne.

The multidisciplinary firm, which provides financial advice as well as accounting and legal services, and advice on research and development incentives and grants, has seen annual revenue increases of 20 per cent over the last two years.

Gild Group director David Page attributed much of the business’s success to a move away from “old-style” model portfolios, which provided poor outcomes for clients and advisers due to the time lags in implementation, labour-intensive production of advice documents and processes relating to compliance.

“Over the last couple of years, we have managed to grow Gild Wealth significantly without adding staff,” Mr Page said.

“This can only be achieved through efficiency gains, and managed accounts have been a key driver of that. In addition, our reporting to clients is more accurate and meaningful. We are able to manage risk and make strategic tilts quickly and efficiently.”

The new Gild Wealth managed portfolios on BT Panorama include growth and conservative options and are in addition to the existing managed accounts that Evergreen already manage for the Gild Group.

Jason Brown, head of distribution at BT, said: “It’s fantastic to be part of the growth story of our clients. While each advice practice is unique, what they do have in common is they are both thriving and seeking further efficiencies by making the most of product innovations.

“We aim to be advisers’ platform provider of choice, and are pleased that, together with investment manager Evergreen, we have launched managed accounts that suit the needs of their business and client base.”

South Australian advice practice Thornton, which manages $1 billion in funds for over 1,500 clients, also credited managed account solutions with boosting operational efficiencies and business growth and building stronger client relationships.

The True managed portfolio options, developed for Thornton, include growth, balanced and low growth diversified portfolios.

Rowan Fielke, managing director and co-founder of Thornton, added that the enhanced efficiencies of these portfolio options allow the firm to meet the evolving needs of clients.

“Our tailored managed account solutions with BT Panorama have been strategically designed to enhance our operational efficiencies, foster innovation and create sustainable business growth, and we look forward to continuing to run our successful client portfolios on this platform,” Mr Fielke said.

Evergreen founder and director Angela Ashton said it partnered with the advice practices to build their product suites.

“We work closely with financial advisers to ensure the tailored investment solutions deliver flexibility, efficiency, and an enhanced client experience,” Ms Ashton said.

"Evergreen prides itself on the depth and quality of its resources, and all of these are targeted at just one thing: helping advisory firms build resilient portfolios.”

The investment manager added that it has developed a strong approach to dynamic asset allocation, as well as in-house tools in areas such as style analysis, stress and scenario testing, and attribution analysis.

“We’re proud to be partnering with two high-quality financial advice practices in Gild Group and Thornton, as well as BT Panorama, to deliver investment solutions we know will make a difference to both the end client and those businesses,” Ms Ashton said.