News - Press Release

January 28th 2010

Legacy Asset Systems to offer legacy migration services to Ascentric users

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Leading wrap platform Ascentric and Legacy Asset Systems (LAS) have today announced that LAS will supply asset migration services to Ascentric users, effective immediately.

Under the terms of the deal, LAS will provide Ascentric with its asset migration tool that identifies clients suitable for asset migration to the platform. LAS will also provide Ascentric users with client-specific cost and benefit comparisons which then populate an automated cost comparison schedule.

Users of the service will have access to a compliant suitability report that clearly shows the client advantages (and any disadvantages) of transferring this business. Ascentric is the first wrap platform to offer these unique services provided by LAS.

Richard Goodall, sales and marketing director, Ascentric commented, "Until now there have been few tools in the market to help advisers with these tasks and none which can be used with all types of investment products. We have worked closely with LAS to integrate its market leading proposition into the Ascentric platform and are delighted that we can now offer this major new benefit to our users."

Bryan Beeston, chief executive, LAS, added, "Transfers and replacement business can constitute more than half of the activity of a typical adviser firm. Our systems have been carefully designed, based on 10 years of transfer experience, to identify suitable clients and provide a sophisticated individual cost comparison report which balances standard costs with quantifiable transfer advantages. We are delighted to be able to work closely with Ascentric to bring these advanced processes to adviser firms."
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Notes to editors:
The importance of remaining compliant during asset migration activity was highlighted in the FSA’s Thematic Review of Pension Switching Advice, published in December 2008.

This study found that:
• 16% of all pension transfers reviewed offered unsuitable advice
• 25% of firms failed with more than a third of all their cases
• 79% of cases failed because there was an unjustified extra cost; and in
• 26% of cases the adviser failed to ascertain if the new product was more expensive.

About LAS
LAS launched in June 2009 having spotted a significant opportunity for migration of up to £2 trillion of legacy assets held in underperforming and largely inactive, normally equity-based funds into wrap platforms and other contemporary investment solutions.

Transfers have become very big business as advisors seek to modernise their business practices and take advantage of the latest products. Ever since the first wrap launched nine years ago it has been clear that the key to transforming the adviser business model is to engage with a systematic and compliant process for transferring existing clients with a collection of legacy products.

This involves a variety of skills and services including processes which scan thousands of old client records to find potentially suitable cases, an accurate ‘before and after’ cost comparison and skillful explanation in client specific suitability reports. Depending on the circumstances, up to 50% of clients can be suitable for transfer.

About Ascentric
Ascentric is a trading name of Investment Funds Direct Limited. Investment Funds Direct Limited was founded in 1982, and Fundsdirect launched as the UK’s first online fund supermarket in December 1999. Since that time, the company has built on their reputation as a leading UK fund supermarket to provide Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) with a Wrap service under the brand name of Ascentric.

Ascentric is a whole of market Wrap service, available exclusively to IFAs and offers a fully integrated online investment management and dealing platform. It also enables IFAs to transfer their clients’ assets onto a single platform to provide them with the ability to manage their client’s financial needs in just one place. This is obviously a considerable enhancement to the existing, time-consuming practice of IFAs introducing their clients to a number of different product providers. In October 2007, a majority holding of Investment Funds Direct Group Limited was acquired by Royal London Group. For further information about Ascentric and Fundsdirect, please visit either www.ascentric.co.uk or www.fundsdirect.co.uk

Royal London Group is a specialist financial service provider. Its businesses focus on those sectors of the market which value quality propositions, operating through a number of brands:

• Scottish Life – UK pensions market
• Bright Grey – UK protection market
• Scottish Provident – UK protection market
• Royal London 360° – offshore investment markets
• RLAM – fund management
• RLAS – life and pensions administration
• Fundsdirect / Ascentric – funds supermarket; Wrap platform

Royal London also distributes life and pensions products through Santander’s national branch network.
Royal London is the largest mutual life and pensions company in the UK with Group funds under management of £35.5 billion. Group businesses serve around 3.6 million customers and employ 2,800 people. Figures quoted are as at 30 September 2009.


For further information about LAS, please contact:
Bryan Beeston, Chief Executive, Legacy Asset Systems:
Tel: 07939 114578. Email: bbeeston@legacyassetsystems.com

For further information about Ascentric, please contact:
Dominic Ventham, Head of Marketing, Ascentric
Tel: 01225 787 208. Email: dominic.ventham@acentric.co.uk

For LAS media enquiries, please contact:
Miles Clayton, Managing Director, Agility PR
Tel: 01992 587439. Email miles@agilitypr.co.uk