For advisers, changing from doing something they have done for a long time – building their own portfolios – can be a wrench. It is a significant step to cease this and hand over the administration to a DFM.
If clients feel they are paying primarily for investment advice, rather than financial advice, then making the change to using DFMs can be troublesome.
However, many adviser firms want to deliver great financial planning and are less interested in portfolio administration. They want to be truly independent of the investment selection.
Lawrence Cook is director of marketing and business development at Thesis Asset Management