Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Friday 20 December 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Abrdn launches tool to help advisers tackle ESG investment challenges
Abrdn has launched a new fully integrated ESG Hub on its Wrap platform to enable advisers to plan, review and analyse client portfolios.
The hub was launched following research that shows advisers struggle to identify suitable ESG-aligned options for their clients.
Advisers polled by Abrdn said that clearly identifying assets or funds that align with their clients’ goals was one of the biggest challenges they faced when it came to supporting clients with responsible and sustainable investing.
Cirencester Friendly achieves PDG Claims Charter status
Cirencester Friendly has achieved Protection Distributors Group (PDG) Claims Charter status.
The mutual joined a small list of seven insurance companies that have met the strict criteria set out earlier in the year. These are Aegon, AIG, Guardian, Holloway, HSBC Life, Royal London and Shepherds Friendly.
The PDG Claims Charter was introduced in 2018 to improve outcomes for claimants by raising basic levels of best practise undertaken by insurers.
‘A step-change in engagement’: Platforms in 2024
Two big stories dominated the platforms space in 2024, as one firm joined and another left.
Back in May, Timeline announced at its annual conference that it was launching its own platform for advisers, called Platform 3.0. Chief executive Abraham Okusanya said at the time of the announcement that Timeline was “creating something truly magical”.
The platform will bring together customisable fact find, risk profiler, cashflow, investment analytics, modular reporting, AML, digital letters of authority and the client portal.
Quote Of The Day
Progress has been nothing if not disappointing, especially when compared against the US. UK growth has stalled, inflation is rising again and households, mortgage holders and businesses will have to put up with higher debt costs for longer
– Derrick Dunne, CEO of YOU Asset Management, comments on the interest-rate decision from the Bank of England.
Stat Attack
Twenty7tec has published its 2025 ‘adviser playbook’, which explores how mortgage advisers can navigate increasing workloads, the complexities of managing changes and evolving customer expectations while avoiding burnout.
It found that the busiest day for mortgage advisers is a Tuesday, closely followed by a Wednesday.
Source: Twenty7tec
In Other News
Brown Shipley, a Quintet Private Bank, has appointed Lindy Kroese as a wealth planner in its Leeds team. Kroese joins from Balance Wealth Planning, where she implemented strategies to grow and protect the wealth of clients.
She specifically supported estate and succession planning as well as pension and retirement planning. Kroese started her financial planning career at Old Mutual in South Africa, before joining Quilter Private Client Advisers.
Kroese, who has over a decade of financial planning experience in the UK and South Africa, brings a breadth of knowledge and expertise to the team. She will report to Brown Shipley’s head of Private Bank North, Gordon Scott.
Interactive Brokers, an automated global electronic broker, has introduced significant enhancements to its web-based Advisor Portal, bringing advanced trading and portfolio management tools to financial advisors worldwide.
These updates streamline client account management and trading by integrating powerful features from the company’s flagship desktop platform into its web-based offering.
The latest enhancements include tools like Portfolio View, Allocation, Rebalance and Tax Loss Harvesting, all designed to help advisers optimise client portfolios efficiently.
Asian shares hit three-month low ahead of US inflation data (Reuters)
Inside Wall Street’s booming $1tn ‘synthetic risk transfer’ phenomenon (Financial Times)
Trump threatens tariffs if EU doesn’t buy more US oil and gas (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
It sounds like a contradiction in terms. Can anything volatile ever be considered predictable?
Nevertheless, Nikhil Rathi, the CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority, recently made a speech where he forecast a new era of ‘predictable volatility’.
He was reflecting on the uncertainty of the last few years, and how the frequency of market shocks has only continued to increase, writes Nick Henshaw, head of intermediaries at Wesleyan.
Rathi notes that “things that used to be one-in-10-year events now happen every month”.
While Rathi presented this new future as an opportunity rather than a threat, it’s likely many advised clients might not see it that way. Indeed, any mention of increased volatility is going to set some alarm bells ringing.
Against this backdrop, advisers have a real opportunity to reassure their clients that their objectives can still be met in a way that accommodates their appetite for volatility.
Read the full article here.
