Platforms

Skandia has abandoned plans to buy small stakes in IFA firms following conversations with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in which the regulator said it was "uncomfortable" with the idea.

Half of advisers have considering launching an execution-only proposition following the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), according to a recent poll, despite regulatory scrutiny of the market.

Customers of D2C platform Hargreaves Lansdown are likely to get lower prices if they transact business online.

Investment company purchases on platforms by advisers and wealth managers are up 53% in the first six months of 2013 against the same period last year, research by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) shows.

STRUCTURED PRODUCTS

Fidelity FundsNetwork is to move to a clean-only model by the end of 2013 on all new business.

AXA Elevate has teamed up with Winterflood Business Services to cut the cost of trading securities including ETFs across the platform by moving to an aggregated system.

Standard Life has unveiled its unbundled pricing structure, which will include a discount for some advised clients.

Fidelity is to spend £250m across its UK platform business over the next five years as part of a plan to enhance its open architecture proposition and dominate the distribution landscape.

Cofunds has written to fund groups demanding contractual rights to the best share class deals in the market - as and when they become available.