Platforms will remain the distribution channel of choice for financial planners, Investment Trends' managing director has said.
Speaking at the 2013 Investment Administration Conference, Investment Trends managing director Mark Johnston said that while technology was changing the industry, platforms were unlikely to lose prominence as a distribution channel.
"It's a little bit early to call the death of platforms. The research is very clear that platforms are and will remain the dominant transaction engine for financial planners in their business," Mr Johnston said.
"At this stage, financial planners are putting 72 per cent of their inflows on platforms for new client money and they expect that to be at the same level in a few years' time.
"That said, there is an enormous wave of change going through the industry at the moment in terms of distribution trends."
Macquarie Banking and Financial Services Group head of insurance and platforms Justin Delaney said that one of those changes is an increased client demand for more control over investments.
He said that platforms are an 'enabler' for advisers to provide more services to clients and that it is important that they develop to meet this need.
"[Platforms] have transformed to enable advisers to provide more advice to more people, offer choice in terms of investment and, ultimately, the really great thing about the way these work is the transparency of access to choice," Mr Delaney said.
"If you agree that platforms are an enabler, then they'll continue to evolve to meet the market and to drive change."
