managed accounts

Managed accounts may be just “one lever of many” that advisers can use to increase scalability in their practice, but the advantages they offer to both clients and advisers make them a crucial consideration.

The shift in focus from financial advisers to research consultants continues apace, both here and abroad, as asset managers follow the great money management migration.

Both in the US and at home, the model portfolio market has matured to the point where most advice firms running managed accounts are in the frame to use customised options.

As platform technology develops, the race to become the one dominant platform for Australian advisers is just heating up. In the US, it’s already well underway, with the number of advisers consolidating platforms rising more than 50 per cent in four years.

There is an incredible rush to bring model portfolio offerings to market from every corner of the advice ecosystem. From platform providers to licensees and advice groups, researchers and asset consultants, the list of service providers casting themselves as mini fund managers is growing exponentially. We’ve seen this kind of thing happen before.

Multi-strategy separately managed accounts (SMAs) are “taking off like you wouldn’t believe”, according to SQM Research CEO Louis Christopher, but the rapid increase in their use could also be creating a regulatory blind spot.

The firm, which provides investment platform services on top of specialist investment support functions, is making ground on both the new guard and the incumbents by focusing on managed account enablement and product flexibility.

Positive flows negated an almost ten per cent drop in the ASX/S&P200 over H1 2022, with total funds increasing another $3.4 billion.