Awards Criteria 2019

Customer benefit will be the key criterion for all awards, whether provider or adviser, and rightly so.

Our judges will be looking for candidates that deliver a better product, better value, a better experience to the customer. Where features benefit the intermediary, they must facilitate customer benefit such as lower cost, better service or something innovative and simply better.

In the case of advisers, judges will be looking for those that employ platforms and technology to deliver a better customer proposition.

In short, treating customers fairly will be central to the awards.

  • The platform of the year – 2019

    This award will go to the intermediary platform that the judges deem to have made the greatest advance or been the most innovative in 2019. It may be an established platform that has made great progress or, conceivably, a relatively new platform that has broken new ground, albeit demonstration of financial strength, commitment to market and a record of success will be requisite.

    The winner may be in the mainstream or successful in a significant segment of the market. The first criterion once again will be around the customer. The judges will be looking for evidence that the customer is at the centre of the proposition. Both sales and service are key measures of success. The winner should demonstrate strong sales in their target market during the previous 12 months, but also demonstrate consistency over a period of years, as platforms are for the longer term. In addition, they will be expected to demonstrate how they meet an adviser’s due diligence assessment in terms of financial strength and potential longevity. As charges come under increasing pressure, the judges will be looking for evidence of greater efficiency through systems upgrades and process improvements.

    All intermediary platforms are invited to submit

    Judging process: Submission followed by interview of the six finalists by our judges in the City of London.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    7IM
    A J Bell
    Funds Network
    Nucleus
    Parmenion
    Standard Life Wrap
    True Potential

  • Best platform provider (AUM over £25 billion)

    The award for the platform with assets on platform over £25 billion.

    The winner will be the platform that wins the largest number of votes from financial advisers.

  • Best platform provider (AUM up to £25 billion)

    The award for the platform with assets on platform up to £25 billion.

    The winner will be the platform that wins the largest number of votes from financial advisers.

  • The Intelliflo award for best platform service

    This award will go to the platform that gains the highest average score across a number of categories around service, administration and usability in an adviser survey run throughout the summer by the Personal Finance Society and Professional Adviser.

  • Leading adviser business (over 10 advisers)

    The judges will be looking for evidence that a first-rate customer offering is supported by the platform(s) and state of the art technology for processes such as research, model portfolios, benchmarking, reviewing, re-balancing and reporting. The judges will be looking where possible for integrated technology that avoids rekeying.

    The judges will be looking at total customer cost - asset management, platform and adviser. They will also want to see that the business is successful both in terms of overall turnover and margin.

    The platform may be appropriate for some parts of the business and not for others. Differing client propositions might necessitate the use more than one platform. In that case, the judges will be looking for evidence of appropriate client segmentation and informed platform selection.

    Judging process: The judging process will be in two stages. Stage one is in the form of a submission to the judges. The three entrants receiving highest scores will go through to an interview with the judges.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Aspect8
    LIFT
    Tavistock Private Client

  • Leading adviser practice (up to 10 advisers)

    The judges will be looking for evidence that a first-rate customer offering is supported by the platform(s) and state of the art technology for processes such as research, model portfolios, benchmarking, reviewing, re-balancing and reporting.

    The judges will be looking where possible for integrated technology that avoids rekeying. The judges will be looking at total customer cost - asset management, platform and adviser. They will also want to see that the business is successful both in terms of overall turnover and margin.

    Judging process: The judging process will be in two stages. Stage one is in the form of a submission to the judges. The three entrants receiving highest scores will go through to an interview with the judges.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    First Wealth
    Investment Quorum
    Thomas & Thomas

  • Best use of platform technology

    The winners will be the partnership that delivers the best project, demonstrating commercially successful use of technology and offering a superior service either from a customer perspective and/or business results. The judges will be looking at what business capabilities are enhanced, how it integrates with other systems, who are the key users and what are the key functions. They will also be looking at the impact on the business, on customers, market uniqueness, delivery on time and budget plus delivery on the basics such as security, reliability and regulatory compliance.

    Eligibility: Platform managers will be asked to nominate technology providers who have delivered the most successful projects in the last year.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Fidelity/Bravura
    Nucleus/FinoComp
    Standard Life/FNZ
    Multrees/Swift
    True Potential
    Vitality/ GBST

  • Leading digital platform

    The award reflects the growing importance of financial technology and automation in investment and financial planning in both the direct to consumer and intermediated sectors. The award will go to the platform, or the core component behind a platform, that is a leader in the employment of technology that improves the quality of guidance or advice and that shortens and eases the customer journey, one that customers find easiest to use. This may include the use of non-obvious sources of data to add new insights, speed up the process and enrich the investor experience. It may involve the use of algorithms or even artificial intelligence to better inform an investor or adviser. Or, it may involve smart and novel ways to engage investors in a way that keeps them coming back to the platform to engage.

    The judges will be looking for the most exciting development in the application of financial technology that encourages both experienced investors and new investors to engage.

    Eligibility: The award will be open to any and all who believe that their proposition meets these criteria.

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Moneyhub
    Open Money
    PensionBee
    Satander
    Smarterly
    Wealthify

  • Leading retirement proposition

    This award is for the leading fully platform-integrated retirement solution - an on-platform retirement proposition that enables the customer to look across tax wrappers and manage all investments together, to enable genuinely holistic investment methodology, as well as offering a competitive personal pension proposition.

    Judges will be looking at availability of asset classes on platform (thus property is hardly an issue), charges and functionality. An important criterion is maximum flexibility in all areas from contribution through to withdrawal/drawdown, in whatever form, so all aspects of drawdown/payment functionality will be assessed.

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    7IM
    A J Bell
    James Hay
    Novia
    Standard Life
    Zurich

  • Leading independent planning tool provider

    This award will be made to the leading independent planning tool provider’* that advisers find the most valuable in supporting their proposition in ensuring that they identify the best client outcome. The judges will consider how well and how easily the tool integrates with other elements of the technology employed and how it avoids re-keying etc
    *This award is not for research, rating or data providers as there is another award specifically aimed at them

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Defaqto
    Dynamic Planner
    Intelliflo
    Iress

  • Leading investment research, ratings and data provider

    As voted for by independent financial advisers, via a survey run throughout the summer by the Personal Finance Society and promoted by Professional Adviser

    This award is for the funds data provider most trusted by advisers

    Judging process: The winner will be data provider that wins the largest number of votes from advisers

    The winner will be the platform that wins the largest number of votes from financial advisers.

  • Leading innovation award

    This award quite simply celebrates innovation, whether a platform (conventional retail, robo or peer-to-peer), planning tool or application that makes life better for platforms, advisers or investors, that breaks new ground, which makes life easier, better, cheaper for the client or the adviser. We are quite simply looking for innovative technology that makes the judges go “Wow!”

    The judges will look at products launched in the last 18 months.

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Calastone
    Open Money
    Origo
    Parmenion
    Santander
    Spire

  • Best wealth management platform

    This award is for vertically integrated platforms providing integrated asset management and/or distribution capability. The judges will be looking for a proposition that offers a straightforward solution that meets the requirements of target customers and offers great value for money.

    Suitability and cost will be key to the winning of this award. The platform should enable the adviser to offer a range of portfolios that meet the requirements of their customers in terms of risk and suitability. The judges will want to know if the proposition is targeted at lay or experienced investors

    Eligibility: The award will be open to platforms with manufacturing or distribution capacity or both.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    7IM
    A J Bell
    Fusion Wealth
    Old Mutual Wealth
    True Potential

  • Leading platform for discretionary management

    This award is for the best platform used by advisers wishing to run discretionary portfolios, either models or bespoke, under their own permissions or the platform’s. The judges will be looking for a high level of efficiency in execution and dealing. The judges will expect investment scope to match the needs of their target customers. The platform should enable the adviser firm to offer a range of portfolios that meet the requirements of their customers in terms of risk and outcome. Entrants should ensure that all charges incurred by customers are shown clearly.

    Eligibility: The award will be open to those platforms supporting advisers wishing to offer discretionary portfolios

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    7IM
    Novia
    Parmenion
    Praemium
    Raymond James
    Standard Life
    Zurich

  • Leading platform for model portfolio services

    The best platform for advisers running model portfolio services as judged by discretionary managers. This award is for the platform that best supports advisers using model portfolio services (MPS) from discretionary fund managers. The discretionary managers scoring the platforms will be looking for the manager that makes it easiest to set up models, helps the adviser with training and support, offers excellent reporting and has a wide range of assets available.

    Eligibility: The award will be open to all platforms that offer MPS on platform.

    Judging process: Top DFMs will vote on a series of relevant criteria as agreed by our advisory board .

  • Leading innovation in workplace solutions

    The judges will be looking for the most innovative and effective workplace platform or use of innovative technology; the proposition that meets the needs of members (most crucially), employer and adviser (where appropriate) and that offers a broad range of benefits and demonstrates success in gaining employees’ awareness and participation. The winner could be a flexible benefits platform, a corporate wrap or other form of benefits hub. The judges will be looking for a product that has shown innovation in attracting employees to the scheme whilst demonstrating sound processes and efficient administration and support. The winner will have demonstrated innovative use of technology and expertise to build a proposition that addresses the challenging issues currently in the workplace market. The winner will have established some traction in the market and have demonstrated appeal to customers. The only exception might be a brand new offering that clearly breaks much new ground and one in which the judges have total confidence in future success.

    Eligibility: The award will be open to both employee benefit and corporate platforms and other technology propositions that increase or improve engagement between employee and employer

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Hargreaves Lansdown
    Moneyhub
    LifeSight
    Wealth Wizards
    Smarterly

  • Best institutional platform

    This award will go to the best wholesale platform supplying a fund service to wealth managers, financial institutions and/or pension fund trustees. This is an award for a growing market of those institutional platforms that offer services to investment platforms, wealth managers, banks, life companies, stockbrokers etc, and also those offering fund services to pension schemes.

    Eligibility: The award will be open to wholesale platforms

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.ing panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Allfunds
    Embark
    Mobius
    Pershing

  • Best strategic platform partner

    This award recognises that platforms are becoming more modular and that many rely on third parties to provide much of the requisite functionality such as custody, security trading, settlement, administration, portals and much more. This award is for the providers of these services. The judges will be looking at the extent to which the service improves the overall platform proposition, paying particular attention to: streamlining processes, improving the client journey and broadening the platform services or asset reach. The service should offer a high level of integration and automation with the platform.

    Eligibility: The award will be open to those providers who can demonstrate that they have significantly improved and/or supported the primary activities or operation of a Platform.

    Judging process: The award will be judged by submissions to the judging panel.

    The Nomination Shortlist

    Dunstan Thomas
    Multrees
    SEI
    WBS

  • Leading platform journalist

    This award will be presented to the journalist who has penned the most informed, interesting or newsworthy articles or series of articles on the platform sector during 2018/9.

    Eligibility: Editors and publishers will be asked to submit articles or a series of articles to the judges that they feel are worthy of the award.

For all enquiries email: [email protected]