Every adviser that works with Aegon and Cofunds is being asked to join a panel to guide the way the platforms are combined.

Following the takeover of Cofunds, Aegon said it wants to create a better platform business “that they (advisers) feel they’ve invested in”.

The online panel is designed to help bosses “better understand the challenges intermediaries currently face and to help guide the business on its approach to combining the Aegon and Cofunds platforms”.

Aegon said it is “hoping to recruit a broad spectrum of intermediaries from across the UK in order to put their views at the very heart of its proposition”.

Mark Till, chief distribution and marketing officer at Aegon said: “We’ve spoken to many intermediaries in the weeks since the Cofunds deal completed and all the feedback on the future of the platform industry has been extremely valuable. By closely involving them in helping to shape our plans, we will co-create a platform business that they feel they’ve invested in, and ultimately one that benefits their business and their clients.

“The online panel, in conjunction with our Advisory Board will be an important part of this process and in addition to gathering intermediaries’ views on platform and proposition, we’ll ensure that views on the issues affecting advisory businesses are heard in our conversations with government and the regulator.”

The online panel was designed to complement the existing Advisory Board which met for the first time in December, where Aegon said it outlined its intermediary focus, platform strategy and what users can expect to see in the coming months.

The business expressed its intention to combine the best of both the Aegon and Cofunds platforms through a “technology upgrade approach”.