Official Defaqto Research – Outsourcing Investment Responsibilities
The prospect of changing compliance landscapes through RDR, and the growing resource needed to maintain performance levels in the uncertain Economic climate which currently prevails in the UK and Global Economies has created a much higher growth in the number of Financial Advisers, who Outsource, the responsibility of Investment Management and Decision-making.
Defaqto is extensively researching the methodological background to making informed outsourcing decisions, and producing Adviser Research, on the considerations that IFAs and Financial Planners, must make when deciding on suitable Outsourcing methods.
Recent surveys of Financial Advisers have revealed that there are four key ''Outsourcing Options'', which are being adopted in today's market, for retail clients.
A - Multi-Manager - Manager of managers, or Fund of funds, gives Advisers the ability to retain some part of the Investment Process in-house. This will typically be the Asset Allocation and risk profiling for retail customers. Multi-manager funds still give the Adviser the choice of sectors and asset classes which he can use to build the portfolio. He can then select Multi-Managers across different areas to manage the detailed weighting of assets in each area. To find out more about Multi-Manager Funds visit the formal Defaqto Multi-Manager page............click here
B - Model or Managed Portfolios - these can be provided by Discretionary Fund Managers but in this sense they are in-house or distributer based solutions which give the Adviser preset investment solutions for different risk categories. Advisers can find further information on this type of outsourcing across a wide number of Defaqto Research reports. (See list below)
C - Discretionary Fund Managers - Probably, over all products and for bespoke higher net worth clients, the most popular form of Outsourcing partners. Many Discretionary Managers, are currently making intense moves towards the Adviser Market, through improved service, and solid packages. In addition, the MPS (Model or Managed Portfolio Service) has grown for smaller clients. This has been very successful in the SIPP Market and is developing through Platforms, although it should be noted that MPS accessibility is still limited in the platform space. For more details about DMS, read Defaqto's Introductory Guide or the recently published second Review on DMS : Further information from Defaqto on all aspects of Outsourcing can be found in the core research reports listed below, and by visiting Defaqto Adviser. Some of the recent research items are also listed below:
Defaqto's Outsourcing Research features and reports:
RDR & Investment Outsourcing : Click Here
Official Review of Discretionary Fund Management: Click Here
Defaqto 2010 MultiManager Reviews: Click Here
Defaqto Platform Review 2010: Click Here
Defaqto SIPP Review 2010 : Click Here