Wrap/platforms

Corporate bond funds saw a resurgence in popularity following a two-month dip in demand, accounting for a third of net sales on the Cofunds platform in July.

Corporate wraps will not pose a threat to adviser firms but will instead complement their services, according to Friends Provident.

Skandia has added pensions to its re-named platform price comparison tool, Platformwatch.

Sesame has stressed it sees platforms as "very important" to the future of retail distribution as the final details on a takeover of support services provider Bankhall are hammered out.

The Selestia and Skandia platforms have now been rebranded as Skandia Investment Solutions, two years after their integration, but there is no end in sight for the full migration of billions of pounds of MultiFunds legacy business.

The Platforum has launched a new service allowing advisers to rate and review the platforms they use.

Ecclesiastical Investment Management has added six funds to Cofunds.

Iveagh, the Guinness family office and private investment house, is to move its Iveagh Wealth fund to daily dealing with effect from 1 August 2009.

Nucleus has added 11 funds in Vanguard's UK range to the IFA-owned platform.

Following Skandia's u-turn on platform-to-platform re-registration I will forever remember June 2009 as the month in which some real clarity emerged.