Tower repositions its wrap service

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TOWER has relaunched its custodial wrap service, Leaders, as a mid-priced, but extensive service for advisers.

Tuesday, February 24th 2004, 6:36AM

Tower chief executive investment business Paul Bevin says although there are a number of players in the platform market there is an opportunity by positioning Leaders between the wraps which offer lots of investments at low cost, and the providers who package up tailored solutions with premium pricing.

"Overall we think that this is one of the more reasonable cost solutions for a retail investor."

Leaders comprises 80 direct and managed investments, along with seven model portfolios.

Bevin says the offering is comprehensive enough to satisfy most advisers' needs.

TOWER says it is already getting good feedback and interest in the Leaders service which was relaunched at its recent nationwide roadshow. However it also has realistic expectations.

"I'm not expecting the whole market to leap over to our offer," Bevin says. But, it will have significant appeal for advisers seeking flexibility and greater support TOWER he emphasises is in this space for the long haul.

Besides the mid-level pricing, Bevin says another attraction of the service is the adviser support services Tower is rolling out through its P3 initiative.

Key Points

Custodial wrap service 80 direct and managed investments External asset register for other assets Seven model portfolios Call account with wholesale rates Online access to client information and reports Full support from P3 partnering programme

He says P3 is an evolving service which will be continually refined and expanded.

The Leaders service is it is built on a software platform that is used by other providers around the world, as opposed to other platforms that are proprietary to the operators.

"Home-built systems have some inherent risks," Bevin says. These include high technology and development costs.

He believes that "renting a core system from a large provider" increases the long-term survival of a service as opposed to the proprietary approach.

Advisers using the Leaders service also get access to research. ABN Amro Craigs provides research in the area of international funds, other research, is provided by TOWER.

Bevin says this is an important aspect, as he believes advisers should be spending their time on understanding their clients and their risk tolerance, "not spending a lot of time selecting solutions."

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