This milestone is the last part of AXA Wealth's RDR-ready jigsaw, following the launch of a new range of clean share classes from Architas and confirmation in November that both its off-platform pension and onshore bond business and its AXA Wealth International offshore investment proposition were RDR-ready.
In the summer, AXA Wealth confirmed by year-end that its entire proposition would be RDR-ready and that adviser charging would be available across its entire proposition. These have now been delivered.
Since the company was launched in 2010, after the sale of AXA’s legacy life book, AXA Wealth has designed its offer around a simple business unit structure, segmenting the market to develop highly specialised propositions aimed at different customer groups.
Its new model focuses on excellence in platform, with AXA Wealth Elevate; expertise in at-retirement solutions, with its AXA Wealth specialist products unit; multi-manager and blended fund capability with Architas, and offshore tax planning with AXA Wealth International, all underpinned with a ‘making investing easy’ philosophy, which is at the heart of its new AXA Self Investor service, available direct to consumers via intermediaries.
Mike Kellard, CEO, AXA Wealth, says: "There are few companies out there that are better positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that we are now seeing in the industry than AXA Wealth. Our strategy, which was planned a few years ago, is focussed on us becoming a platform winner, on placing investments at the heart of our business, and to innovate with specialist products like individual and group SIPPs."
Key drivers of the AXA Wealth strategy:
• advisers are recognising the efficiency of managing assets on wrap platforms and AXA Wealth expects them to start transferring these assets away moving from traditional life companies and fund supermarkets to platforms like Elevate
• the at-retirement market is very active with the baby boomer generation looking to consolidate their pension and investment pots. This trend will benefit AXA Wealth's specialist products unit, with its range of individual and group SIPP solutions alongside investment bonds
• advisers are increasingly outsourcing their investment proposition to specialists, such as Architas
• a growing number of consumers are trading direct, with many clients not requiring ongoing financial advice or unwilling to pay a fee for a simple transaction, such as an ISA. This is an opportunity for AXA Self Investor working with advisers
• advisers and their clients expect high levels of customer service, with offers like AXA Wealth's 'five-star*' adviser support service proving increasingly popular.
Kellard says: “At AXA Wealth, we took the decision in 2010 that we didn’t want to compete as a general ‘waterfront player’. Instead, we wanted to focus on creating a select range of highly specialised offerings to catch the many opportunities emerging from the wealth management market to meet our customers’ very differing needs.
“As an example, wrap platforms are perfect for a growing number of advisers and their clients, so we have invested heavily on making Elevate the best platform we can. But it is not for all customers. We have therefore focused as well on our specialist products business. This business has far greater focus in time to catch the many ‘baby boomers’ who are now close to retirement and looking to consolidate their existing pension pots.
"Likewise, offshore tax planning or even self-investing may be for some all that is required, so we have segmented the market and have highly specialised propositions aimed at these different segments.”
With a secure B+ financial strength rating from AKG** and part of AXA Group, the largest financial services brands in the world, according to Interbrand, AXA Wealth has long focused its strategy on understanding its local market, and segmenting that market to provide real focus on its customers.
2013 will be a major test for the financial services industry, which will benefit those companies best able to flex and adapt. AXA Wealth forecasts a strong focus on value and price, as the industry consolidates down to a handful of key players over the next two years.
|
