Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said some policymakers have struggled at times to understand exactly what a platform is and whether it should be treated as a product or a service.
“I think it probably makes sense for one of the existing trade bodies such as the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to take a lead in coordinating a forum in which platforms can address issues of mutual interest and provide policymakers with a coherent collective voice,” Mr McPhail said.
Francis Klonowski, principle at Klonowski & Co, was more sceptical that another trade body would do any better a job than the old one did as the industry has changed to rapidly.
“I’m not sure this would serve any great purpose, especially as platforms seem to merge or fold or get taken over with alarming frequency.
"As long as we get access to regular and reliable research – such as provided by Platforum – we can identify those platforms that best suit our needs. In any case we tend to narrow down to the one or two that have a reliable and robust offering.”
julia.faurschou@ft.com
