Platforms praised for innovation in new edition of | Australian Markets

The second version of SuitabilityHub’s annual Platform Market Wrap has highlighted the modern contributions made by investment platforms to assist the financial advice industry’s “next phase of growth”.

The 2025 Platform Market Wrap analysed the latest tech strikes and improvements introduced by the platforms round three central concepts: battle towards complexity, increasing adviser capabilities and driving industry growth.

The report discovered that platforms had dedicated to delivering new options that will improve operational effectivity and scalability of advice companies, together with digital self-service, streamlining multi-step workflows and implementing bulk processing capabilities. The report highlighted HUB24’s new advice price consent answer that leverages machine studying to help advisers in managing a number of shoppers without delay and supplies same-day processing.

The review additionally discovered North’s Interactive Shopper Device launched final 12 months has supplied advisers with the power to ship dynamic, interactive and personalised shows for shoppers with a wholistic image of their financial place.

“To help advisers achieve their growth aspirations, platforms are continuing to invest in solutions that remove complexity,” Recep Peker, Managing Director of SuitabilityHub, stated.

“From automating routine advice strategies like pension refreshes and recontributions to introducing bulk fee arrangement templates, platforms are enabling advisers to scale their businesses while improving client outcomes.”

Platform partaking in partnerships with advice companies, corresponding to Netwealth and iCapital and Praemium and Stropro, has additionally enabled advisers to faucet into a comparatively untouched phase of Excessive Web Value (HNW) shoppers, with out the trouble or price to “reengineer the practice’s operating model” to assist their advice necessities.

Equally, different platforms are offering in-house expertise and experience to spice up the companies supplied by advice companies, with HUB24’s SMSF Entry promising “to make managing an SMSF as easy as retail super” and Mason Stevens’ Outsourced CIO service offering institutional-level analysis and investment assist.

“The platform market is increasingly shifting focus from features and fees to value propositions and services that support advisers in effectively serving their target client segments,” Peker stated.

“Whether advisers specialise in HNWs, retirees, or everyday families, platforms are evolving to meet their unique needs.”

Platforms have additionally targeted their efforts on cybersecurity and technological innovation corresponding to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to assist advisers, with Macquarie Wrap’s Authenticator app offering a high stage of security and reliability. The report additionally discovered that a number of platforms are trialling a vary of AI-backed options to automate shopper engagement, back-office administration and cybersecurity.

The review additionally highlighted BT Panorama’s three-pronged method to partaking with people about the advantages of financial advice, by partnering with Striver to encourage new expertise coming into the industry, partnering with Preqin for personal markets analysis, and launching the Optimise Your Tremendous device to gamify engagement with retirement targets.

“Platforms are investing in initiatives that foster industry-wide growth,” Peker stated.

“By strengthening cybersecurity, enhancing academic sources, and streamlining platform performance, they’re uplifting the whole advice ecosystem – benefiting advisers and shoppers alike.

“Many of the AI functions being developed don’t overlap. As a substitute, platforms are engaged on a selection of worth propositions and use instances.

“This is a great experiment, as advisers will have access to a rich range of solutions in the coming years, and we will learn which applications of AI will have the greatest impact on advancing the industry.”