Last year, we teamed up with the lang cat to take a deep dive into how platform service really impacts advice firms. Spoiler: it wasn’t pretty.
The findings were eye-opening and, quite frankly, alarming. We uncovered some pretty uncomfortable truths—like how much time advisers waste, how efficiency takes a hit, and, most embarrassingly, the sheer number of client apologies advisers have to make on behalf of the industry.
This is an issue that demands action—and we’re committed to driving the change. This year, we’ve revisited the study, homing in on a particularly frustrating pain point: transfer times.
Transfer times - latest findings
- 82% of advisers report that poor service is significantly impacting their day-to-day work
- 95% of the profession have had to apologise to clients on behalf of providers in the last year
- 89% believe providers should publish standardised, like-for-like transfer data
- 75% of firms now prefer cash transfers for clients because they’re faster and more predictable
- 45% of advisers have moved assets from a platform due to poor service, with 34% of platform contacts being to chase up existing work
- Worryingly, 89% of advisers have a negative reaction when it comes to asset transfers
The findings are clear - the industry’s lack of action is damaging trust and efficiency. This needs to change.
Parmenion’s CEO Martin Jennings said:
“In the new era of Consumer Duty, this year’s report is a disappointing read. The advisers surveyed have even less confidence in platforms in 2024 than they did last year, which should be concerning to providers. Poor platform service is linked to a double-digit loss of productivity in advice firms, and we would appeal to the whole industry to ‘lean in‘ and take accountability to improve the platform experience for everyone, especially when it comes to pain points such as transfers. None of us want or need more regulation, but unless we see meaningful improvements, I fear this is what we will get.”
Parmenion Chief Marketing & Propositions Officer Sarah Lyons commented:
“We hope our new report will galvanise everyone with a stake in platform performance to take action to improve overall service. The client pays for the platform, but it’s the adviser who bears the cost of poor service. This unseen cost continues to blight the profession and ultimately undermines consumer trust in all of us.”
The Lang Cat’s Insight Director, Steve Nelson said:
“One year on from the inaugural ‘Impact of Poor Service’ report, we have seen things get worse for adviser firms and their clients. Platforms must embrace technology and improve their processes to better serve advisers and their clients, or as we’ve seen in 2024, advisers will punish them by selecting a better alternative.”
Download The Impact of Poor Platform Service report
Download the full report here: ‘The Impact of Poor Platform Service’ here.
