The importance of platforms to adviser businesses has been laid bare by new research suggesting over 90% of IFA firms now use a wrap or fund supermarket.

Nucleus has stopped trading six Castlestone funds on the platform following an FSA visit to the asset management's premises this week.

Zurich set out its ambition to challenge the UK's major retail platforms after revealing its long-awaited proposition will come to market in Q4 this year.

A Newcastle-based financial planner has taken out a series of newspaper advertisements in a bid to attract the "abandoned" clients of Bluefin advisers previously working out of the IFA's now-closed Newcastle office.

National IFA Moneygate has acquired London-based adviser Equus Independent Financial Management for an undisclosed sum.

Sesame Bankhall Group is launching a legal services proposition designed to help advisers manage complex legal issues.

The reputations of the men and women managing investment funds is the most important factor when selecting vehicles for clients, research suggests.

FundsNetwork has extended its £45 account fee option to all clients on the platform.

The RDR is bound to disappoint because it will fail to meet its public policy objectives and widen the advice gap, according to wealth manager Fowler Drew.

Cautious Managed was the most popular IMA sector on FundsNetwork in June, with the Jupiter Merlin Income Portfolio fund the top-selling product.