AMP : North managed portfolios top $14 billion AUM as further enhancements rolled out for advisers and clients

• New upgrade to investment switch functionality
• North cash account rate leads market
• Latest Investment Trends report reflects North uplift and retirement focus

North, one of Australia's leading wrap investment platforms, has seen its managed portfolio offer surpass $14 billion in assets under management (AUM) in February, representing an annualised growth rate of 185% since launching in 2018.

The rapid growth comes as North continues to strengthen its offer for advisers and clients with new investment switch functionality and a leading annualised crediting rate of 4.55% on its cash account^1.

The ongoing enhancements made to North in recent years were reflected in Investment Trends awarding North the industry's Most Improved Platform and Best Retirement Solution²

Managed portfolio demand

North's range of more than 362 managed portfolios passed $14 billion on 28 February 2024, representing a 66 per cent yearly increase, and continuing their rapid growth since launch.

North's flagship retail menu now includes 112 portfolios from 19 investment managers, reflecting a commitment to quality and breadth of choice.

This includes the addition of a new Australian diversified fixed interest portfolio from Real Asset Management in December and the ongoing expansion of North's partnered managed portfolio offer, which allows advisers to work with the North team and leading investment managers to create tailored portfolios for their practices and clients.

Investment switch upgrade

North has introduced new faster and easier investment switch functionality, with advisers now able to select investments by entering a client's target portfolio weightings which better aligns with how they construct their advice documentation.

The new functionality is fully integrated with North's market leading Records of Advice functionality which calculates proposed fees, taxes and impact to the clients' target risk profile. In addition, advisers can now track how trades are progressing and receive estimated completion dates for switches

Leading cash account

North's market leading annualised crediting rate of 4.55% recognises the importance of the cash account as a core feature of a wrap platform for advisers to invest on behalf of their clients.

North's cash account has been designed to provide advisers with control in how they invest client funds, including the ability to set minimum and target cash amounts, the flexibility to go into negative balance, together with same-day trading and portfolio re-balancing facilities.

Industry recognition

North's ongoing uplift and product innovation has been reflected by independent financial services research firm Investment Trends recently awarding North as the Most Improved Platform and Best Retirement Solution in their 2023 Platform Benchmarking Report.

MyNorth Lifetime, North's market first lifetime income retirement solution, has received a number of awards since launching, including from Plan for Life, Canstar, Chant West and at the World Pension Summit in October 2023³

Anthony Jury, adviser with Anthony Jury and Associates, said:

"We use North because the simplicity and efficiency across the platform are major drawcards. Whether that's setting up accounts, reversionary pensions, super accounts, or organising rollovers, it's seamless compared to competitors.

"North's innovations and range of investment options and structures also allow my team to select and deliver outstanding investment outcomes for our clients that are both unique and bespoke in design."

AMP Group Executive for Platforms, Edwina Maloney, said:

"Our investment and development program for North is targeted at the areas we know make it easy and efficient for advisers to deliver high quality advice to their clients.

"This includes the ongoing expansion of our managed portfolio offer as we look to partner with more advice practices to create tailored portfolios for their clients.

"Likewise, a flexible cash account is important to advisers in implementing efficient and cost-effective investments, as is switch functionality, which makes it easy for advisers to manage and execute trades.

"The positive recognition from Investment Trends, both from a general improvement perspective and the quality of North's retirement offering, is testament to the success of our enhancement program which has been directly informed by feedback from advisers and the evolving needs of their clients."

[1] Cash rate analysis was performed and verified by Chant West using their wrap comparator tool as at 26 February 2024

[2] Investment Trends 2023 Platform Benchmarking Report

[3] Deferred Lifetime Investment Linked Winner, and Innovation Winner, Plan for Life Excellence Awards 2022; Canstar's Innovation Excellence Award 2023; Chant West's Best Fund, Innovation Award Winner 2023; Pension Fund Design and Reform Award at the World Pension Summit 2023.