The UK wrap market is looking to take its lead from Australia if the choice of systems builders is a guide.
Nucleus Financial Group of the UK confirmed yesterday its choice of technology provider for a new wrap – the Australian-based Bravura Solutions. Nucleus represents a consortium of seven UK independent financial advisor groups and a South African life insurer, Sanlam. Bravura’s technology will provide straight-through processing, wholesale and whole-of-market investment fund pricing, portfolio management tools and advanced financial planning principles, according to a joint statement from the companies. Bravura, which last month raised $40 million through an Australian IPO, already had four UK-based clients for its systems. Nucleus has been in development for two years, led by a group of people who have pioneered wrap services in the UK, which are, as yet, not as widely used by advisers there as in Australia or the US. However, the British platform market is heating up considerably and last week the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK version of ASIC, released a report on how the use of wraps can affect the independence of financial advisory businesses. The UK has become a new frontier for Australian-based funds management systems providers, with one of Bravura’s competitors, InfoComp, currently running a London office of about a dozen people. I&T News incorrectly speculated last week that InfoComp was the likely provider for the Nucleus business. However, Rob DeDominicis, InfoComp’s managing director, said from London that his company declined to tender for the Nucleus contract. There were better opportunities for InfoComp in the UK at present, he said. He was expecting to be able to make some announcements of his own shortly. Another Australian designed wrap, Transact, which has been in the UK for several years, was reported by the Citywire website to be one of the few platforms operating profitably there despite an advisory firm pulling £40 million off the system last month.
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