Almost three quarters (73%) of independent financial advisers believe they could grow their business by up to 10% a year if more time spent managing portfolios was reallocated to client acquisition and financial planning.
New research from Rathbones, published today (22 September) found that the other 27% said it could allow them to increase their client base by 11–20%.
The vast majority (94%) of IFAs said their profession is best served by focusing on financial planning to address the needs of their clients, rather than day-to-day investment management.
The top challenges reported by IFAs relating to portfolio management are: time-consuming rebalancing (61%), market responsiveness (55%) and scalability (54%).
Overall, 90% of the 100 IFAs surveyed said they expect to increase allocations to actively managed MPS solutions over the next three years.
Rathbones investment director and manager of the MPS Andrea Yung said: “In today’s increasingly complex financial landscape, many advisers are stretched thin trying to balance investment management with comprehensive financial planning, often without the scale or support to do both effectively.”
The release of the study coincides with the launch of Rathbones’ upgraded model portfolio service (MPS).
The MPS has ongoing charges capped at 0.5% and no discretionary fund manager fee applied.
Yung said that the upgraded MPS is designed to ease the burden on advisers by giving them access to actively managed, resilient investment solutions.
This, she added, allows them to focus on what truly differentiates their service – “delivering forward-looking, holistic financial planning”.
Rathbones Asset Management head of multi-asset investments David Coombs added: “The three funds within the Rathbones MPS are designed to work in harmony, providing financial advisers with access to a resilient, risk-managed portfolio that evolves over time.
“The portfolios are more agile, enabling us to respond swiftly to changing market conditions without relying on third-party decisions.
“By managing assets in-house, we maintain full visibility of each funds’ holdings and can implement changes with speed, confidence and precision.”
In June, Rathbones investment director Robert Hughes-Penney was elected as one of the two Sheriffs of the City of London, with his term beginning September 2025.
