Why things will never be the same for platforms

The platform market has undergone permanent change this year. Regulation and, more specifically, charging rules helped carve out a new platform landscape.

Grabbing the headlines was the eagerly-anticipated platform policy paper in August.

Everyone expected the unexpected and the regulator did not disappoint. In yet another dramatic twist to the rebate debate, the FSA said both fund manager and cash rebates will be banned pending further research.

But with final charging rules not coming into effect until after RDR, the industry is now faced with the a two-stepped regulatory overhaul.

The FSA's plan to ban fund manager rebates effectively made the supermarket model obsolete and set in motion a tectonic shift in the platform landscape, with the likes of Cofunds, Fundsnetwork and Skandia all unveiling pans to launch unbundled offerings.

Supermarkets now face a defining test as they look to overhaul their business models and compete with open architecture wraps.

Meanwhile, surprising figures from The Platforum showed platform AUM fell more than 4% in Q4. It has been suggested this may be a sign advisers are beginning to question their value.

But it was by no means all doom and gloom and the platform market remains in rude health, as evidenced by the arrival of new players.

Whilst Bestinvest launched an execution-only platform in May, Aegon entered the wrap race with a retirement offering in November and Zurich will roll out its retail proposition early next year.

It was also a good year for Novia, Asenctric and Nucleus, all of which hit profitability.