Alternatives to the Elevate Platform

ElsaOrdonezG

Hi everyone, 

After a lot of problems lately with Elevate, we have finally decided to remove them  from  our preferred platforms list.

We are thinking of replacing them with Aviva. We intend to use them for our lower-end clients (under £120K).

Anyone using the Aviva platform that can provide some feedback. I am keen to get your views on how easy is to place trades/ manage models, and also their service  levels. 

Thanks!!!

Elsa 

richallum

HI, several of our clients use Aviva for that type of client, especially with simpler investment options such as multi asset funds.  In my experience it's a good option and I've not got any complaints.

Jona

If it helps....?

Jamie_Barnes

Hi Elsa, our firm ran out of patience with Elevate (and others!) and looked at Aviva as an alternative but decided against them in the end. Our due diligence of Aviva's platform showed it to be a very good potential option, with well thought out processes and a very knowledgable team behind it. 

The main reason we decided not to go ahead with adopting Aviva at the time revolved around the replatforming from Bravura to FNZ, as we much prefer the former to the latter for other provider platforms e.g. Elevate, SL is on FNZ and both have caused us numerous problems and are incredibly clunky, whereas Nucleus is on Bravura and tends to be smoother to use. The platform reps we met were not able to sufficiently answer the questions we had regarding technology and how this might impact clients in the interim, though this was about a year ago and from what i've read the replatforming has been very smooth. If you use model portfolios then the experience i've had of any FNZ powered platform is to steer well clear! At the time there wasn't a dummy login to test the platform with but i believe that was being worked on. As with everything, 'try before you buy' if you can!

On a side note, what was it with Elevate that has proven to be the final straw for your business?

Jamie

alex_lannin

Hi Elsa,

There are a few external organisations that can assist with platform research and will have some useful guidance on Aviva:

http://www.langcatfinancial.co.uk/

https://finalytiq.co.uk/

http://www.platforum.co.uk/

Some very useful reports on this website.  Thressixty also provide some excellent guidance for platform due diligence if you use their compliance service.   

I don't have any experience on Aviva personally though I'm afraid. 

Alex

Ralfos

Agree with Alex - get hold of the last couple of Langcat publications - gold mines of info!

ElsaOrdonezG

Thank you, richallum, Jona, Jamie_Barnes,  alex_lannin and Ralfos for your help, I think the fact that they will go into FNZ has put me off completely, as I fear we will experience the same problems as with Elevate. 

Jamie_Barnes, we've had serious issues running the models, but the final straw has been that you can not trust their valuations at all; we have identified that clients funds have "disappeared" from their accounts without any solid explanation from Elevate. I had a client with funds missing for months, and another one where an small ISA  transfer came into her account (+-£15,000), funds were invested, but a few days later the investments and cash were not   showing anymore on her valuation. 

When I challenged Elevate about the first client the response was: "money was in a sub-account that you and the client could  not see". 

For the second client, after a month I still have not received a reply.

It makes me wonder where on earth does the money go and for what purpose. 

I would urge everyone to keep an eye on their clients valuations in detail....