“There is a cohort of businesses where it is the right thing to do because they have bespoke needs, for example they might be managing ultra-high-net-worth clients. But that’s only a small proportion of the market,” said Ward.
Hiring not just based on experience
One of the main components Ward has credited for Aviva’s platform service is its distribution, operations and support teams.
Like many platform operators in the UK, Aviva found itself scrambling for talent during the pandemic as firms vied to hire more staff in order to manage strained service levels.
Aviva simply decided to stop looking for candidates with experience, seeing as they were the most sought after in the market - particularly when many favoured working from home versus commuting to Aviva’s York office.
“The operations team did a great job at changing the recruitment policy,” said Ward.
“All the job applications said people had to have experience, but that meant all candidates would have to come from other platform businesses. We took that out and started looking for the right people.”
Aviva began inviting candidates into the office, partially in an effort to persuade those put off by Aviva’s huge corporate brand.
“Inviting people in for open days was really helpful. It was nothing material, but we changed the focus.”
Platforms will need to look closer at foreseeable harm
As the April deadline for the Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer duty fast-approaches, providers - much like advisers - have a lot to keep in mind.
One thing Ward reckons will be a big theme for platforms following its implementation is due diligence.
Last year, FTAdviser found Embark had the highest uphold rate of any adviser platform with the Financial Ombudsman, with the most resolved complaints relating to self-invested personal pension due diligence, provider due diligence, or 'administration or customer service'.
Experts have said it is likely the Fos will “set a precedent” to define what avoiding foreseeable harm - a requirement of the consumer duty- actually means with example cases.
“If you’re looking at foreseeable harm, you should be looking at where that money could end up and what that could mean for the end customer,” said Ward.
“Everyone’s got a responsibility to look at that, platforms included. I don’t see how you can answer the cross-cutting rule without looking across the services they offer and seeing where those investments end up.”
Due diligence includes looking at outliers and charging, Ward explained. “It’s definitely an area that will get more focus, particularly around the value as well. As a platform, we’ll have to look across all of it.”
