Alliance Trust Savings platform to add DFM links and cash account

Alliance Trust Savings has upped its efforts to woo advisers by unveiling plans to link with discretionary fund managers (DFM) and add cash accounts to its platform later this year.

The platform, which has £4.1 billion in assets under administration, currently gets 90% of its business from direct investors, and is looking to extend its offering to advisers.

Managing director Patrick Mill (pictured) said he was fully committed to servicing advisers, which would also help grow the company’s on platform Sipp business.

‘[A cash account is needed] if someone is in a Sipp and they don’t think the timing is right, they can keep their money in a cash account: it would also suit a cautious customer coming up to retirement,’ he said. ‘As for DFMs, we have no links to them at this point in time, but it something we are discussing for this year.'

Mill said that the firm had been reluctant to put risk-rated portfolios from DFMs on the platform in the pat, but this would become an option if advisers used the platform.

‘With a direct customer base, you have to be careful with this "accidental advice’"', he said. 'But now we are dealing more with advisers.'

Mill would not disclose a delivery date or names of partnering DFMs, but said it would be implemented later this year.

Alliance Trust Savings has now introduced its clean share classes for direct and advised business, with no minimum investment limit. It now has over 1,200 clean share classes on platform.

Alliance Trust Savings has a set fee structure, irrelevant of how many assets are invested. The cost is £100 plus VAT for an ISA and dealing account, or £250 plus VAT for a Sipp. There is a pay-as-you-go option, which does not include a £12.50 dealing charge for buying and selling investments.