Schroders Personal Wealth (SPW), the Financial Planning arm of Schroders and Lloyds Bank, is launching its own platform to give clients a better and more streamlined service.
The move will enable SPW to bring the control and oversight of client money and investments in-house, the firm says.
The new platform will utilise existing partnerships with SEI and Schroders wealth management arm Benchmark.
According to SPW the tie up will allow SPW to offer integrated advice, investment and platform services to clients.
As part of the move, SPW will, subject to FCA approval, become a regulated platform operator and custodian. It will then be responsible for holding and safeguarding client’s investments.
In addition, SPW will also become the ISA Plan Manager, responsible for administrating clients’ ISA accounts. Currently Benchmark’s Fusion Wealth platform provides the accounts in which clients investments are held and acts as ISA Plan Manager and SEI Investments (Europe) Ltd currently acts as custodian.
The launch is set to go live this summer. In addition to the new platform, SPW will also be launching an app for clients in Q2.
Graham Bastin, chief technology officer at Schroders Personal Wealth, said: “This is an exciting milestone for Schroders Personal Wealth and the first of many new developments that we’ll be looking to make, starting with the launch of our mobile app later this year.
“Improving client experience was central to our decision making and we have listened to feedback from our clients and incorporated these insights while developing our new platform alongside our partners. Going forward, clients will only hear from one brand, instead of three, and will have an enhanced experience through better integrated technology.”
