What does the future hold for vertical integration?
Providers running in-house advice arms, platforms and model portfolios seem to have found a formula for success. But are their clients getting the short end of the stick?
By
Daniela Esnerova
16
As the distribution landscape has shifted since the RDR, so have product providers’ business models.
In a world where commissions suddenly weren’t the only way to get your product to market, many came up with a solution: take ownership of the distribution chain by running your own platform, advice firm, funds and discretionary models.
Proponents of vertically integrated systems such as these argue they allow groups to achieve efficiencies and pass the savings on to the end client. There has indeed been huge asset growth on the part of these companies, which their adherents suggest is evidence that a one-stop-shop model is an appealing one.