Retail use of ETFs pushes platform flows

It reports that its ETFs have seen a 71% increase in assets held on platforms over the past year. At the end of June, iShares had £723.5 mn in ETF assets across seven wrap platforms, an increase of 30% since the start of the year. "The usage has increased primarily due to a movement toward model portfolios, either those constructed by advisers themselves or outsourced to discretionary managers," says David Bower, head of marketing at iShares EMEA. He says this is part of a shift to more retail use of ETFs as there is wider acceptance of them as a tools to help manage portfolios. ...