Adviser platform AJ Bell has added discretionary fund manager Tatton to its panel of DFMs and amended its managed portfolio service (MPS) in response to growing adviser demand.
AJ Bell’s third party DFM service gives advisers and their clients access to MPS from a range of external providers, including 8AM Global, Brewin Dolphin, Brooks MacDonald, Charles Stanley, FE FundInfo, LGT Vestra and Waverton, and sits alongside AJ Bell’s in-house MPS option.
The Tatton managed portfolio ranges being added are Managed, Tracker, Core and Ethical. Each range offers six risk levels and has an annual management charge of 0.15%.
Paul Hogarth, chief executive at Tatton Asset Management (pictured right with Andy Bell), said: “I’m delighted to be partnering with AJ Bell to further extend access to Tatton’s model portfolios. We entered this market 8 years ago with a clear goal of driving down the cost of investing, delivering investment excellence, backing financial advisers and being available on as many adviser-led platforms as possible.
“AJ Bell is a strong partner for Tatton and we are thrilled to be meeting adviser demand on its platform. It’s great to see the market for outsourced investment solutions thriving and supporting advisers in what they do best – focusing on delivering superior client outcomes through market leading solutions.”
AJ Bell has also updated its MPS to a ‘reliance on others’ basis, meaning advisers will no longer be responsible or liable for investment decisions made in the underlying portfolios.
The change will mean advisers are no longer treated as the client of the MPS manager and will not be liable for customer complaints about the underlying investments, as per AJ Bell’s previous ‘agent as client’ approach.
Instead, the client will be treated as the investor, creating a direct three-way relationship between the adviser, their client and the MPS manager.
Responsibility for managing the portfolio will rest with the MPS manager, leaving the adviser to assess only the initial and ongoing suitability of the MPS solution itself.
The changes apply to the entire AJ Bell MPS range, including active, passive, ‘pactive’ and responsible MPS options as well as its Retirement Portfolio Service.
AJ Bell said there will be no additional costs involved and no extra contact with clients by AJ Bell.
Kevin Doran, managing director of AJ Bell Investments, said: “This is a change driven by advisers. Our MPS is growing in popularity as advisers appreciate the combination of choice, cost and communication we have committed to offering the market.
“Having operated our partnership portfolios on a ‘Reliance on Others’ basis for a number of years, many advisers have told us that they’d prefer the MPS to operate on the same basis.
“Advisers will understand the importance of that to their business, both in terms of the reduction in risk it delivers and the substantial time savings it will generate.”
