An investment platform is a single place where all your investments can be monitored and managed. In the past investors may have had a variety of investments made with a variety of companies, each with a pile of paperwork; which made tracking the performance of your investments at-a-glance a distant dream. With an investment platform, this dream is a reality.
What are the benefits of an investment platform?
See the risk
Your financial adviser will perform a ‘risk profiling’ analysis to assess your attitude to risk before investing on your behalf. This ensures that your goals and expectations are matched accurately with the type of investments you make. Certain platforms, including Skandia’s platform, provide tools to help your financial adviser carry out this risk profiling in as accurate a way as possible.
A platform should also allow you to see the risk rating of each of your investments, which can help to minimise the risk of nasty surprises further down the line.
Track performance
By showing all your investments in one place, you can easily see the performance of each fund. This makes the whole process far more transparent, not to mention easier to manage. In consultation with your independent financial adviser, you may choose to switch or adjust funds as you both see fit as a result of being able to track the performance of your investments through a platform.
Switch funds
Some investment platforms give you access to thousands of funds from leading investments houses. This makes it simple to quickly switch investments, giving you up-to-date valuations of your progress. There may be charges for switching funds, although some investment platform providers do not charge for this.
Take control of your financial future
Rather than simply offering separate products, such as pensions, ISAs, and life assurance, an investment platform brings it all together in one place. This means it is possible for you and your financial adviser to see a single, transparent overview of your financial position, making it much easier for you to make well-informed investment decisions to plan your financial future.
Charlotte Walker writes on a range of finance related topics, including the benefits of using an investment platform.