Introduction
An introduction to this white paper: how value added by advisers
needs a fresh look and alternative approaches to maintaining
value.
The streamlining of investment decision making is giving investors the opportunity to
exercise greater autonomy over their savings decisions and execution. There are three key
areas that are subject to this streamlining. The first area is information and research about
investments which is now available extensively online from multiple channels. The second is
planning, execution and reporting which is now made easier and clearer by a growing range
of online investment providers. The third area is in investment design, which is being
simplified by the rapid growth in Asset Allocation Funds that deliver an asset allocation
strategy inside a single fund and model portfolios that can be executed on an investment
platform.
All these functions - information, research, planning tools, execution, reporting and asset
allocation design were formerly the preserve of investment advisers. As these functions
become increasingly outsourced there is some concern that advisers may find it harder to
evidence their value add in this more streamlined world. As a result of the UK’s regulatory
Retail Distribution Review (“RDR) and the