Nearly all advisers have had to apologise to clients for poor platform service, new research from Parmenion has shown.
The firm’s 2024 report ‘The Impact of Poor Platform Service’ found 95% of advisers have had to apologise to clients on behalf of providers over the past 12 months, with asset transfers posing a particular problem.
The research found that almost 30% of respondents reported a ‘significant impact’ on their day-to-day work from poor service given by platforms. As a result, 45% of advisers said they have changed platforms in 2024.
Platform transfers are especially difficult, with 90% of advisers using negative terminology to sum up their experience of the asset transfer process. One in five advisers admitted they had waited more than six months for a transfer to complete, while nearly 10% had waited more than a year. Over a third (34%) of instances of contacting a platform is to chase up existing work in a queue, said Parmenion.
Nearly nine in 10 (89%) of advisers agree that providers should agree a consensus and publish like-for-like transfer data. Three quarters of firms said they prefer cash transfers for clients as they are more predictable and often faster.
Martin Jennings, CEO of Parmenion, 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.”
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