Ascentric Wrap

Ascentric has posted a £0.6m loss for the 2013 financial year after "significant" investment in technology which cost it £1.6m last year.

Royal London chief executive Phil Loney has said the group is currently preparing its wrap platform Ascentric to be "four or five times the size it is today" over the coming years, following a tougher 2014.

Jon Taylor, head of the former Co-op life insurance business, is to replace Hugo Thorman as managing director of platform Ascentric.

A record year to date performance has taken Ascentric and IFDL past the £7bn milestone for assets under administration.

Ascentric, the Royal London-owned wrap platform, has seen net new business jump by 46% in the third quarter.

Assets on Royal London's wrap platform Ascentric grew 42% to £4.7bn in the nine months to 30 September, with new inflows dropping 18% to £856m.

PLATFORMS

Wrap platforms Ascentric and Transact have criticised the FSA after it requested the wraps provide it with details of hundreds of their customers in order to gauge their views on platform rebates.

Cofunds has today announced its new unbundled charging structure which will launch around the middle of next year alongside the bundled model. But is the supermarket offering a good deal for clients?

There are many ways a discretionary fund manager (DFM) can integrate a platform into their service proposition. Maria Merricks looks at the options