Skandia begins staged MultiFunds migration

Skandia is to begin a controlled migration of MultiFunds business onto the new Selestia Investment Solutions platform with a handful of IFA firms starting in September.

IFAonline reported at the start of July that billions of Skandia MultiFunds legacy business was involved in a migration delay nearly a year after the launch of the new Selestia Investment Solutions platform.

The group promised advisers in September 2006 that "any existing plans held on the two platforms (Skandia MultiFunds and Selestia) will be seamlessly migrated onto the new platform when it launches". It then intended to move the accounts across on 25 February 2008 but this deadline was not met as the group wanted the transition to be smooth and felt more time was needed.

Skandia has now announced it will take a staged approach to the migration with no timeframe being set for the full migration to be completed.

The group says the Investment Solutions platform has undergone major development to scale it up to meet increased demands when MultiFunds customers move across and for higher new business flows.

It is now working with a handful of adviser firms to move their clients to the Investment Solutions platform and providing a tailored support process to help the move.

A dedicated team has been established to support advisers throughout the migration. This will ensure effective communication with clients, smooth transition of policies, and support for advisers following the move to ensure they are making full use of the new features available, Skandia says.

Peter Jordan, head of platform marketing, comments: “Through working with advisers we have identified that demand exists to move a controlled number of advisers to ensure not only the technology, but the support and administration required are fully tested. We hear a very clear message from advisers that their key requirement is we should manage the process prudently and there is no need to sprint to the finish.

“Based on this feedback, the priority is that we get the move right without creating disruption for advisers or their clients. In September we will start moving clients from one platform to the other in a controlled way which is the right approach to ensure we can work with advisers to communicate effectively with clients concerned and provide support to advisers if they need it to ensure they can gain maximum benefit from the new platform.”

The Selestia Investment Solutions platform will form the foundation for Skandia’s development plans for wrap, particularly into the wealth management space. The intention is for advisers to get used to using this platform and then progress to other available services as their businesses evolve.

The new platform was designed as a step up from the existing Selestia and Skandia platforms, combining the best elements of both platforms.

New MultiFunds business can be placed on Selestia Investment Solutions.