A Guide to Choosing an Investment Platform

For many clients,  the most difficult stage of their investment journey starts in the selection of their investment strategy;  is it stocks or bonds, passive funds, etfs, actively managed or multi-managed funds or DFM(Discretionary Fund Management)?  The list of asset choices is almost endless.   However, once you decide on the investment mix that is right for you then the platform that you adopt can make a big difference to the comfort of your investor experience.

A platform is simply an online administration system that allows you to transact the purchase and sale of financial investments. Here are some of the key considerations when selecting a platform as a home for their wealth:

Charges and Fees are not always easy to compare;

Platforms are hungry to attract assets under management because they apply fees based on the value of your assets that are held on the platform.  Some platforms use eye-catching 'special offer' administration fees designed to get you to place your investment with them.  However, be aware of additional and sometimes obscure fees including; asset custody fees, FX transaction charges, buy / sell transaction costs,  and even charges for accessing your funds or transferring your investment to another platform.  

Consider the full range of assets and research tools;

Many of the latest platforms offer a huge range of investment options to clients at the touch of a button.  In this age of information the speed and quality of data can be key to making informed decisions.  Some platforms offer detailed levels of research and fund information while the very basic platforms offer access to a very limited range of funds or even restrict clients to a series of pre-selected portfolio models.  If available, take the time to explore demonstration site access to ensure that the platform does exactly what you need.  

Make sure that the platform is financially strong enough to be future proof;

With platforms, the cheapest solution may not always make the best sense for the long-term.  A large and well funded platform will have the finances to continually invest in upgrading the functionality of the platform.  This can ensure that you are receiving up-to-date financial information, that transactions are processed efficiently and that the firm is able to fulfil on-going regulatory obligations.  

At Melbourne Capital Group we have developed an investment platform which allows our clients to access over 7,500 institutionally priced funds plus direct purchase of securities from most major global exchanges.  Our clients can opt for our actively managed portfolios or can select investment assets as they wish.

When creating a platform for our clients, our experienced management team went through an extensive review process to ensure that we could offer our clients the right combination of cost efficiency and operational excellence.

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