The partnership will give clients access to Flagstone’s pioneering deposit platform services – emphasising the value of innovative solutions for wealth management clients.

Jersey-based Flagstone International is revolutionising the way individuals and businesses manage their cash assets by simplifying the process of finding the most competitive savings products.

Offering a web-based platform that connects depositors with licensed deposit-taking institutions, clients can easily browse, compare, and select deposit products from various banks, all in one place.

Inspired by the inefficiencies of traditional banking, Flagstone International aims to provide individuals, businesses and trusts with access to leading market rates, diversified deposit options, and streamlined account management.

Dean Kemble, chief commercial officer at GSB, said: “We are thrilled about this partnership with Flagstone International. Their cutting-edge platform will allow us to provide our clients with unparalleled opportunities to optimise their cash management and achieve their financial goals.

“The difference between the highest and lowest paying deposit rates is significant. Our relationship will provide access for clients to a platform of deposit taking institutions to maximise their cash assets”.

Andrew Thatcher (pictured), chief executive officer at Flagstone International said: “We are looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with GSB and their customers. This strategic partnership exemplifies our commitment to working with the highest quality financial services companies across the globe.

“The Flagstone International platform will allow GSB’s clients to effortlessly instruct the placement of deposits across multiple products, from a variety of investment grade banks, in several jurisdictions around the world. It provides flexibility and convenience whilst also optimising interest income and effectively diversifying clients cash assets.”

This news follows the recent announcement that GSB has achieved Certified B Corporation (B Corp) status, joining a global community of businesses dedicated to high social and environmental performance standards.

The tools utilise automation and FNZ’s end-to-end wealth management technology, putting control back into the adviser’s hands, the statement said.

The new adviser tools will include a digital adviser access and workflow tool for Aviva’s Client Asset Transfer Service (CATS), which provides material efficiencies to transfer assets at scale onto the Aviva platform, saving significant time by equipping advisory firms and platform teams with the capabilities to perform high volume tasks more efficiently.

There will also be new digital analytics capabilities encompassing Enhanced Client-Base insights for advisers, allowing for greater customer personalisation. Additionally, the launch of the new Adviser Hub will offer a centralised workspace with a configurable dashboard, enabling quicker integration of new applications and enhancing the overall adviser proposition.

The launch of these tools comes after the 15-year extension of Aviva’s partnership with FNZ, announced in January this year, to support Aviva’s ongoing focus to simplify and transform the operations of its UK Insurance, Wealth & Retirement (IWR) business.

Al Ward, head of adviser platform, Aviva said: “It’s an exciting time for the Aviva platform and developing these new services will help enhance the great service advisers already provide. Using the latest technology to constantly look at better ways to operate and integrate really helps move things forward creating a better experience for advisers and their clients.

“Aviva is committed to delivering for the advice market and are pleased to have worked closely with our technology partners at FNZ to deliver these new tools and services”.

Alastair Conway, chief executive officer, UK, Middle East and Africa, FNZ said: “Our goal is to give advisers more control, helping them deliver better outcomes for investors and drive the growth and efficiency of their businesses. As we roll out enhanced digital analytics capabilities, and a range of new workflow, asset transfer and dashboard configuration tools, the Aviva Adviser platform will help advisers free up time and deliver ever more personalised products for their clients.

“Aviva is a highly valued strategic partner, and we look forward to continuing to support the Group’s growth ambitions, while furthering our purpose to open up wealth and help everyone, everywhere, invest in their future, on their terms.”

In a statement on 18 June, Hargreaves Lansdown said the revised proposal follows three previous approaches from the consortium in recent months.

The consortium comprises of CVC Advisers, Nordic Capital XI Delta, SCSP (also known as Nordic Capital) and Platinum Ivy B 2018 RSC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority managed by its private equity investment department.

“The Board remains confident in management’s ability to execute Hargreaves Lansdown’s strategic priorities and in Hargreaves Lansdown’s fundamental longer term prospects. However, having evaluated the Revised Possible Cash Offer, which would provide the certainty of value in cash to shareholders, the Board has decided to engage with the Consortium and provide confirmatory due diligence access.

“The Board has confirmed to the Consortium that the Revised Possible Cash Offer is at a value that the Board would be willing to recommend unanimously to Hargreaves Lansdown shareholders, should a firm intention to make an offer pursuant to Rule 2.7 of the Code be announced on such financial terms and subject to agreement on other key terms of the Consortium’s proposal and definitive transaction documentation.”

HL shareholders will also be given the option to choose a “rollover equity alternative” in respect of some or all of their shares, the platform explained.

This would provide shareholders the opportunity to re-invest their holdings and co-invest in the consortium’s unlisted acquisition vehicle for up to 35% of its equity.

The deadline for the consortium is 5pm on 19 July.

It highlighted how new research, indicating 40% of advisers have or are planning to change their charges, led to Parmenion’s decision to develop a structure for users to “tailor charges to different client segments quickly and easily”.

In the light of Consumer Duty, it provides valuable support for advice firms who want to actively manage their charging structures to demonstrate the value they provide, the statement said.

This was ” just one of many new features” Parmenion said it would be introducing this year.

From late summer this year, Parmenion will enable advisers to create different adviser charging structures on the platform, determine the number of tiers and the percentage charge for each tier, and also to link new and existing clients to the correct tiered charging structure and move clients easily between charging structures

Parmenion head of retirement and wealth planning, Daniel Edwards said: “Adviser charging replaced commission as part of the 2012 Retail Distribution Review (RDR). Since then, there has been surprisingly little innovation, with single percentage-style charging still underpinning many advised businesses.

“At Parmenion we pride ourselves on listening to advisers and responding to their needs. We are introducing tiered adviser charging in answer to this key ask which we have been hearing from many of the advisers we speak to and is backed up by the latest Langcat research and Investment Trends reports.

“Having the flexibility to shape their own charging structure for different clients should help advice firms to meet their obligations under Consumer Duty and evidence how they are providing value and delivering good client outcomes.”

This is how we keep the world spinning in any capitalist system. Without the constant tension between start-ups and incumbents, we would be on a slippery slope towards monopolies and the lack of innovation and progress they’re known to engender.

According to economic theory, increased competition is likely to erode established players’ dominance over time. By extension, it’s also likely to eat away at their profits.

This should be bad news for me, because the international platform space is currently witnessing a notable influx of entrants. They’re portrayed as smaller, nimbler, cheaper and more cutting-edge than the companies they’re taking on – which just happen to include the one of which I’m CEO.

Yet economic theory doesn’t always translate into practice. There are plenty of instances of competition consistently producing the same winners over significant periods.

Microsoft is an obvious case in point. It has ranked among the biggest hitters in one of the most fiercely contested spheres of all for nearly 50 years. It’s a classic illustration of “beating the fade”.

Ultimately, this kind of protracted pre-eminence boils down to two dynamics. Let me explain what they are, why I think they’re likely to apply here and how they might shape our industry.

The emperor’s new clothes

New market participants have to differentiate themselves. They can’t expect to make serious inroads if they enter the fray with the same offerings and the same prices as the companies they hope to unseat. They have to come out swinging, talk a good game and gain attention.

The preferred head-turners for international investment platforms are novel features, greater functionality and reduced charges. This is a combination guaranteed to catch the eye of many advisers and their clients.

It’s vital to remember, though, that emerging businesses aren’t always what they appear. As in The Wizard of Oz, a peek behind the curtain often reveals a reality substantially removed from the spectacular image that’s presented.

For example, a new platform’s number of employees might be surprisingly low – even alarmingly so. Its support infrastructure could be inadequate. It might lack expertise and experience, especially in complex fields such as cross-border regulation.

There might also be limited management information and reporting tools. The available investment universe could be relatively constrained. All those seemingly attractive headline costs may hide additional fees further down the line.

Last but by no means least, the company might be trading at a loss. After all, the early stages of almost any business’s life are notoriously fraught and fragile. This could call long-term viability into question.

Of course, it’s possible to have a clean bill of health. That’s why some new companies survive and even thrive. But would-be stakeholders should exercise caution and perhaps even demand assurances, because common shortcomings like these are a key reason why incumbents are able to preserve their ascendancy.

Inspired to improve

All this might give the impression that larger, proven platforms have nothing to worry about – that we can simply shrug our shoulders and assume we’re untouchable. This is far from the case.

Just as success attracts competition, competition breeds success. It prevents complacency. It compels every business to improve. If forces us to keep asking what we need to do to stay ahead of the curve.

Regardless of whether they genuinely disrupt the status quo, newcomers merit our attention. They may well do some things more effectively than we do. They may well be capable of teaching us a trick or two. They may well have a few bright ideas.

Equally, they might remind us how not to succeed. They might underline that we’re on the right path. They might dramatically highlight one or two problems we’ve overlooked and ought to factor into our longer-term thinking.

In 2015, when Novia Global was launched, this was anything but a crowded market. It’s now becoming considerably more congested, as we knew it would – which means we have to keep getting better in order to maintain an edge.

To that end, I welcome competition. I welcome it because it’s natural, because it’s healthy and because it drives innovation and improvement. I also welcome it because it should provide more choice. And I welcome it because I like a challenge.

The challenge for us is to remain at the forefront. The challenge for our aspiring successors is to displace us – and to first stick around long enough to have a chance of doing so. The challenge for advisers and their clients, crucially, is to choose wisely.

By Steve Andrews, CEO of Novia Global