Do execution-only platforms offer a useful accompaniment to the post-RDR adviser business model? Henry Brennan finds out if a D2C ‘holding pen' for potential future clients makes sense.
Investment Funds Direct last week announced it would be selling off the execution-only side of its business, Fundsdirect. In addition to the fact the direct-to-consumer (D2C) proposition comprised only a small proportion of the business, managing director Hugo Thorman said the sale would remove any potential conflict of interest it might have as an IFA-facing business. Thorman said: “If you go directly to a consumer market, introducers and advisers feel uncomfortable because it leads them to believe that, potentially, you are trying to undermine their relationship with clients. We see...
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