Investment Platforms Need to Reinvent Themselves in a Post-RDR World, Says Report

Investment platforms in the U.K. will need to reinvent themselves in a post-Retail Distribution Review (RDR) world, according to a new report published jointly by Citi and The Platforum, an advisory, research and events business specializing in platforms.

The winners in this new environment will be the customer-facing platforms that have focused on their core strengths and achieved operational and technology efficiencies to deliver sufficient value to the end-customer.

The report examines key players in the U.K. platform market and outlines the explosion of propositions which have been launched over the last two years across multiple delivery channels and access points in terms of adviser, direct-to-consumer and workplace platforms.

While platforms in the U.K. began as an investment and administration solution for Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs), they have since expanded to act as delivery mechanisms in both non-advised channels and the workplace savings market. Growing margin pressures are forcing platforms to focus on their core competencies—customer service, their front-end offerings and trading and execution quality—to differentiate themselves. Platforms must therefore determine how to remain competitive and relevant in the face of operating cost pressures and not get distracted by infrastructure and processing issues.

The full report is available here.