Cofunds

Five of the UK's financial services fund platforms have joined together to create a committee aimed at building industry-wide standards.

Sales growth figures published in the past few days by both FundsNetwork and Selestia suggest use of ecommerce trading has increased in line with the rises seen in stock market indices and higher levels of equity trading.

Advisers are being offered a whole new way to organise their business by Cofunds and Legal & General.

For a while, the financial services distribution battle seemed to be about product providers feverishly buying up intermediary firms.

CoFunds, the investment platform, has plans to expand into the life and pensions after this morning announcing Legal & General has bought a 25% stake in the firm.

Intermediaries looking for client product quotations can now access Assurebweb's free quotes and new business through IFAonline .

Cofunds and L&G have staked a claim to provide for the full spectrum of distribution in the post de-polarised financial services world through a move to create a "strategic alliance".