A new comparison tool for assessing discretionary investment managers has been unveiled.

The online aid has been created by DISCUS and will feature firms that are its ‘investment partners’.

The company, which was launched earlier this year, aims to provide insight into the outsourced investment market through the provision of online information, profiles of discretionary managers and their investment propositions, as well as timely articles from a range of industry experts.

Gillian Hepburn, DISCUS director, said: “We believe that the regulator has an increased focus on the due diligence of products and services and our Compare tool is a good starting point to help advisers with this process.

“The criteria available for review is based on our experience of working with advisers and helping them to select investment propositions aligned to their client and business needs.

“These criteria cover the areas which can make a real difference in the selection process. The availability of market commentary, responsibility for suitability, handling of client correspondence and the range of investments used are a few examples.”

She said the tool would be further developed once user research and testing is carried out, containing data from more discretionary managers.

James Goward, head of sales support at Rathbones, said: “The recent proliferation of discretionary fund management offerings, the disparity between them and the high volume of information in the marketplace means that it has become difficult, if not impossible, to compare them effectively.

“We believe the new Compare tool enables advisers to evaluate the different propositions available, based on what is most important to them, rather than be ‘told’ what is best by someone else’s criteria.”