BT Panorama accelerates growth

BT Panorama is set to surpass $15 billion in funds under administration (FUA) with a 75 per cent increase in netflows¹ since BT introduced simple open platform pricing in July last year. 

BT Panorama growth 

• Funds under administration (FUA) up by $3.6 billion an increase of 32 per cent²
• Netflows increased 75 per cent August to December ($466m to $814m)
• Active advisers increased by 35 per cent
• Customer accounts increased by 33 per cent³ 

BT Panorama is growing at a much faster rate than traditional and contemporary rivals with quarterly and annual FUA growth of 15 per cent and 85 per cent respectively⁴. BT Panorama experienced quarterly and annual netflows of 30 per cent while all other platforms with positive netflows fell from the June quarter⁵.

BT General Manager Platforms and Investments, Kathy Vincent said the growth of BT Panorama has been exceptional and netflows are accelerating.

"We knew that opening up our pricing would be a game-changer. Taking pricing off the table means advisers and dealer groups are focusing their choice of platform less on price and more on selecting the right partner: what is right for their clients, for their practice and to help them navigate the evolving regulatory landscape," Ms Vincent said.

"BT’s heritage is built on our partnerships in advice and continually evolving and investing in our offer to meet the needs of advisers and their clients is paramount to our success," Ms Vincent said.

The accelerated growth of BT Panorama can be attributed to a range of factors including the recent additions of new digital functionality such as mobile digital consent for corporate actions and bank account establishment, digitally enabled Record of Advice (ROA) generation, enhanced reporting capability and an extensive investment menu with the broadest managed accounts offer in the market.⁶ Additionally keeping a balance of focus and investment on getting the basics right as well as developing new capability is vital to the success of the platform.

"Being the largest Australian platform provider⁷ is something we are not only really proud of but a responsibility we take very seriously.

"We know advisers are looking to platforms to help run their businesses as efficiently as possible⁸.

"We’ll continue to stay close to advisers and the needs of their practices as well as improving functionality and adding new capability in the year ahead. Some of the new enhancements will include integration of the ROA with advice software, new adviser model tools and enhanced reporting across entities," Ms Vincent said.

1. BT Open pricing launched 21 July 2018. BT Panorama monthly net flows up from $462m in August to $814m in December, an increase of 75 per cent

2. BT Panorama growth statistics from 21 July 2018 to 29 January 2019 ($11.2b to $14.8b)

3. BT Panorama growth statistics August 2018 – December 2018

4. Strategic Insight quarterly data, September 2018, FUA across quarter and year with the exception of Managed Accounts Holdings (expanded through M&A activity)

5. Strategic Insight quarterly data, September 2018, platforms with positive netflows in Sep18 quarter, excluding Managed Accounts Holdings and Perpetual Select (both had netflows less below $150m in Sep18 quarter)

6. BT Panorama offers both Separately Managed Accounts (SMA) products and Managed Discretionary Accounts (MDA) services with customised functionality. The SMA product may be issued by BT or external responsible entities, with a governance process to enable investment portfolios to be constructed by professional investment managers, advice licensees and asset consulting firms – available to advised investment, super and pension clients. The SMA is also available to self-directed clients through direct engagement channels. MDA services through BT Panorama are managed through the tailored portfolio tools and can be activated by advice licensees and practices or for arrangements where advice businesses partner with a nominated 3rd party MDA provider. BT Panorama’s managed accounts are all available within a single account, with oversight and control of all investments residing with the adviser, and does not require multiple separate client accounts for each managed account type in which the client invests.

7. BT is number one in market share for all retail platforms according to Strategic Insights latest quarterly data, September 2018

8. Investment Trends Planner Technology Report, May 2018. Efficient administration is the most cited reason given by advisers for favouring their main platform.