MLC has officially opened its new platform, MLC Wrap, for business.
The new platform integrates separately managed account functions and self-managed superannuation fund solutions into a full service platform.
The development of MLC Wrap was sparked by the acquisition of Aviva by MLC's parent company, National Australia Bank, in 2009.
"This represents the first fruits of the integration of MLC and Aviva, bringing together the best of the two businesses," MLC investment platforms executive general manager Michael Clancy said.
MLC plans to continue developing and expanding the Navigator platform, which is popular among independent financial advisers, but was less firm on the future of the MasterKey Custom platform.
"Navigator will continue to remain open. It will sit alongside with MLC Wrap and continue to be supported, built up and enhanced as we move forward, and a lot of the learnings and development we have for MLC Wrap will find its way into Navigator," Navigator general manager Bruce Hawkins said.
"With MasterKey Custom, we are looking at the future of the product solution there and we've already communicated to the market that we are bringing MasterKey Custom onto the Navigator administration platform."
MLC last year announced it would consolidate the back offices of the Navigator and MasterKey Custom platforms, creating one administration system for the two systems.
MLC Wrap is built on Navigator's technology, n-link. At its peak, the construction and development of the platform involved 200 people.
Although MLC did not give details on the costs of building the system, Clancy said it fell within the estimated integration costs of $125 million flagged to the market in June 2009.
The new platform has flexible remuneration models that allow financial advisers to choose flat, asset-based, indexed or tiered fees.
"In a world where advisers are transitioning to fee-for-service, offering flexibility in the way these fees can be collected is a critical platform capability," Clancy said.
MLC has created a new approved product list (APL), which is largely a combination of the Navigator and MasterKey Custom APLs.
Clancy said the requirements for listing had been tightened marginally, but 95 per cent of the list could be considered a superset of the previous two APLs.
MLC Wrap also allows advisers to consolidate externally held investments, such as investment properties, into their clients' accounts, which makes administration and tax optimisation easier.
