The weird and wonderful world of platforms
2020 was a landmark year for platforms – and as we enter 2021
the sector is ripe for another shakeup
By
Katey Pigden
28
Eighteen months ago, as the newly appointed news editor of
Money Marketing who had been given platforms as their main beat, I almost talked myself out of a job when I openly admitted I didn’t really know what an adviser platform was.
They say there’s no such thing as a stupid question, but I’m sure my boss wondered why he had employed me when I asked: “What exactly do you mean by the term ‘platform’?” Luckily, he didn’t sack me on the spot or tell me he’d made a terrible mistake. Instead, he patiently explained how advisers used them to view and manage their client’s investments in one place.