Platforms see increased volume of business despite dropping satisfaction levels

With numerous different platform providers offering similar products, service is now one of the key differentiators for advisers when choosing a partner. In our platform service survey we asked financial advisers about their views on the service they receive from platform providers. Here’s what we learnt.

What were we looking at?

We asked financial advisers what was most important to them out of 11 service satisfaction categories, using a five-point scale. We then used this to calculate a mean score out of five to determine the perceived importance of each individual aspect of service. We also identified which platforms advisers are using regularly, and identified their preferred platforms, measuring their satisfaction levels with those preferred platforms.

Platform community sees decreased satisfaction among advisers

The platform community has faced numerous headwinds in the past year with service satisfaction for financial advisers falling during this period. When it came to the services advisers saw as being most important, the ranked order remained largely unchanged; new business administration placed first, existing business administration placed second and online services and e-business third. 

However, the average satisfaction score declined to 72% from the 2017 results with no individual category achieving an average score of 80% or higher. These results indicate that overall satisfaction with platform service has fallen when compared to the results from 2017. We also found that the number of advisers changing their preferred platform has increased exponentially, from 10% in 2016 to 25% in 2018. 

Impact of restricted adviser status

The study also showed that financial advisers placing 75-99% of their pension and investment business onto platforms has fallen in the last year. Those placing 100% of their business onto platforms has also increased accordingly. The increase in the 100% result could support the market commentary regarding the increase in advisers adopting restricted status.

Perhaps, most surprisingly, results from this years’ survey revealed that 25% of respondents had changed their preferred platform in the last 12 months. This figure is a marked increase from 16% in 2017 and 10% in 2016.

“The platform community has faced a number of challenges throughout 2018 such as Regulatory adherence, the influence of technology and market disruptors challenging cost competitiveness,” David Cartwright, Head of Insight and Consulting for Wealth and Protection at Defaqto, explains. “Despite continued mergers and acquisitions, re-platforming exercises and increasing levels of functionality, the survey results indicate that a number of platforms still fall short in some areas when it comes to the levels of service advisers expect. With a fall in satisfaction from advisers, it’s important for providers to take note and ensure they are responding accordingly,” he adds.

Would you like to learn more?

For more details including the individual satisfaction scores and to see how your experience compares to the one of your peers, download our free Platform Service Review 2019 here.

About Service Ratings

We use the results of the survey to rate providers Gold, Silver or Bronze based on their overall satisfaction score. These Service Ratings help advisers in choosing the appropriate provider partners for them as they are fully based on the feedback we receive. They are available to view and use within Defaqto Engage, our end-to-end financial planning solution.

If you don’t have currently a license, you can learn more about Engage Core, our end-to-end financial planning tool, and request a demonstration, here.

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