Standard Life is using adviser feedback to determine new investment plans and improvements for its Elevate platform, which it acquired from AXA Wealth.

Despite speculation that Standard Life, which acquired Elevate in November 2016, would merge Elevate with its own Standard Life Wrap, Standard Life says it remains committed to Elevate. It says it will fund new investment and will focus Elevate particularly on the Financial Planning sector. The changes also support ‘new-style advice models’ and key asset consolidation and decumulation markets such as post-retirement planning.

The enhancements will help Elevate support the adviser and client experience in terms of “structuring and matching” client investment mandates with the right blend of discretionary and fund-based solutions, says Standard Life. 

The platform will focus particularly on the efficient delivery of “Financial Planning services at scale”, says Standard Life.

Enhancements are designed to:

· Bring together a wide range of investment solutions and include ‘richer reporting’ for multi-manager funds
· Offer access to an extended range of external discretionary investment portfolios
· Improve integration and tools to support cashflow, CGT planning and pension income management
· Enhance user journeys including new ‘click and switch’ processes, efficiently transferring assets between wrappers to maximise tax efficiency.
· Improve the client experience with reduced paperwork, as well as improved investment and tax reporting.

Standard Life’s head of adviser and wealth manager propositions David Tiller, said: “We are seeing a number of platforms struggling to cope with changing adviser priorities. Legacy fund platforms, with their transactional nature, relegate the role of the adviser to that of mere execution rather than active ongoing plan management.

“Picking funds and products is the outcome of advice, not the advice itself. With adviser focus having shifted to consolidation and decumulation, it is vital that platforms help advisers to constantly review and reshape client plans as needs evolve. Elevate has always prioritised the delivery of a streamlined service for advisers serving clients in the run up to and throughout retirement. This investment is about taking this to the next level.”

He said the investment programme will provide richer functionality and slicker processes while extending the choice of discounted investment solutions available to advisers.

Steve Owen, head of proposition for Elevate, said: “With this investment programme we can share a clear roadmap of positive developments that will genuinely help our adviser partners. We know from recent research with Elevate advisers that investing in technology to support their advice process is more important than delivering unused product features or investment choices.

“The features arms race is over. It’s not about ‘flashing lights’, it’s about enabling advisers to help them grow their businesses while offering their clients a great service.”

Standard Life says its Elevate and Standard Life Wrap platform are used by over 3,000 financial advice and wealth management firms and serve over 360,000 customers. Total Standard Life platform assets under administration are over £44 billion.