Ascentric applaud RDR clarification
Friday, 26 June 2009
Ascentric, the independent wrap platform, announces its support of the RDR paper today. They believe that the firm line held by the FSA is great news for clients, independent advisers and the industry.
Hugo Thorman, Managing Director of Ascentric commented, "This is great news for independent wrap platforms and totally endorses our approach. In spite of intense lobbying, the FSA have not backed down. They've held on to the principle of "unbiased and unrestricted" whole of market advice, adviser charging and transparency.
"More enlightened businesses are already there, but others will now have to adopt this model if they want to prosper in the new world. We know it is painful changing business model but the rewards in terms of quality of income, service to customers and robustness of the new economic model will make it worthwhile.
"The combination of good independent advice together with an "unbiased an unrestricted" platform now has to be the model of choice."
-ENDS-
For further information please contact:
Ascentric
Hugo Thorman, Managing Director
Tel 0207 506 6605, Mobile 07710 877998
Email: hugo.thorman@ascentric.co.uk
Dominic Ventham, Head of Marketing
Tel: 01225 787208, Mobile 07590 227039
Email: dominic.ventham@ascentric.co.uk
Issued by Concise Public Relations
Martin Wood
Tel: 01252 656435, Mobile: 07946 527240
Email: martin@concisepr.com
Notes to Editors
Ascentric and Fundsdirect are the trading names of Investment Funds Direct Limited.
Investment Funds Direct Limited was founded in 1982, and Fundsdirect launched as the UK's first online fund supermarket in December 1999. Since that time, the company has built on their reputation as a leading UK fund supermarket to provide Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) with a Wrap service under the brand name of Ascentric.
Ascentric is a whole of market Wrap service, available exclusively to IFAs and offers a fully integrated online investment management and dealing platform. It also enables IFAs to transfer their clients' assets onto a single platform to provide them with the ability to manage their client's financial needs in just one place. This is obviously a considerable enhancement to the existing, time-consuming practice of IFAs introducing their clients to a number of different product providers.
In October 2007, a majority holding of Investment Funds Direct Group Limited was acquired by Royal London Group.
For further information about Ascentric and Fundsdirect, please visit either www.ascentric.co.uk or www.fundsdirect.co.uk
Royal London Group, is a specialist financial service provider. Its businesses focus on those sectors of the market which value quality propositions, operating through a number of brands:
- Scottish Life – UK pensions market
- Bright Grey – UK protection market
- Scottish Provident – UK protection market
- Royal London 360° – offshore investment markets
- RLAM – fund management
- RLAS – life and pensions administration
- Fundsdirect / Ascentric – funds supermarket; Wrap platform
Royal London also distributes life and pensions products through Abbey's national branch network.
Royal London is the largest mutual life and pensions company in the UK with Group funds under management of £32.5 billion. Group businesses serve around 3.6 million customers and employ 2,870 people. Figures quoted are as at 31 March 2009.