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16 / 17 by almost 60 per cent between 2016 and 2020 , with £ 550bn now under administration . The momentum of recent years is grist to McCombie ’ s mill : “ Retirement saving will drive growth for many years to come ,” he notes . “ Traditionally we accessed this market by buying listed fund management companies , but with platforms we don ’ t need to make those calls or worry about the skill of the managers in any one company . By and large we ’ ve sold out of individual investment managers and added to our platform holdings .” Currently 6 per cent of the UK Growth Fund is invested across listed platforms , including Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell , both of which have a DIY retail customer base . It also holds IntegraFin , which runs the Transact platform and serves financial advisers and their clients . McCombie explains : “ We ’ re looking for companies with strong management teams , and a sense of purpose . The platforms we own are quite different from each other , but they all know what they ’ re trying to do and they all have a lot of room to grow further .” These companies may all operate in the personal investment market , but each differentiates itself within its segment . AJ Bell , for example , keeps costs low : “ It ’ s been very successful . It is competing in the same market as Hargreaves Lansdown , which isn ’ t the cheapest but has tremendous quality of service . Both businesses are adding new customers . This isn ’ t a zero-sum game .” Moreover , both are trying not just to increase their own slice but also to expand the whole platform pie . Recent products include Hargreaves ’ Active Savings account , and a similar offering from AJ Bell . These initiatives are embryonic , but McCombie sees them helping platforms to reach new audiences – especially young people – and raise brand awareness . “ There ’ s a long game being played there ,” he says . It ’ s not all been plain sailing . Hargreaves Lansdown found itself in the eye of the storm over Woodford Investment Management ’ s underperforming flagship fund , for example . But this is where active shareholders such as McCombie come into their own . The team kept in contact with the Hargreaves Lansdown board when the platform took a pummelling for promoting the Woodford Equity Income Fund right up until its suspension in June 2019 . “ We had some frank and challenging conversations with the management and the chairwoman
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