Elevate due diligence

Transcription

1 Elevate due diligence Keeping things simple For adviser use only

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3 Elevate due diligence Platforms can add real value. To you, your business and your clients. Selecting the right one, however, is a complex and time-consuming process. That s why we re here, to help keep things simple. How? By producing this guide to our Elevate platform. It explains how we can help you by covering the main areas of due diligence. During your selection process, the pressure to get things right is immense. In the following pages, we aim to assist you in your due diligence. But best of all? How we believe it can add real value to you, your business and your clients. Both now and in the future. Noel Butwell Distribution Director 1

4 Choosing the right platform Introduction Choosing the right platform Making the right platform choice is one of the key decisions you ll make as a business. It s imperative, therefore, that you have all the facts in front of you. Elevate offers a variety of products and a comprehensive range of funds. But before that comes the all-important selection process. Due diligence The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is placing more focus on due diligence than ever before. Which means, assessing a platform s suitability involves much more scrutiny. The pressure to get things right is huge. Working closer together The good news is that s where Standard Life comes in and where we can forge a closer working relationship with you. How? By helping you make an informed choice on what s exactly right for your business. For a start, you ll be thinking about how the platform will support your existing client service, not to mention your investment proposition. We ve built our Elevate platform using leading technology, with an eye firmly on the future. It s flexible and regularly developed, so we can add new features and improve existing ones. Information correct as at August 2017 unless otherwise stated. 2 Your questions answered The FCA is very clear. Responsibility for this sits firmly at your door. As part of your platform selection process, we thought we d make things simpler for you. In this guide, we ve set out a series of questions based on the FCA s nine main considerations, to help you decide. Based on our experience of working successfully with around 3,000 advisers on our platforms there s one thing we can assure you of. This guide can go a long way to helping you make the right decision.

5 Contents Contents Section 1 The platform provider 4 Section 2 Terms and conditions 11 Section 3 Charges 14 Section 4 Wrappers 17 Section 5 Funds 21 Section 6 Other investment options 23 Section 7 Functionality 25 Section 8 Accessibility 32 Section 9 Additional tools 34 Section 10 Support services 38 Remember, this guide isn t an exhaustive list of what you should be looking at in your due diligence. Certainly, as you work through the nine sections, you ll probably start to think of other topics that are important to you and your clients. If you need more help, we re here. Any further questions? Call us on Call charges will vary. Or contact your Standard Life Account Manager elevateplatform.co.uk 3

6 1. The platform provider 1. The platform provider As an adviser, you need to be confident the platforms you use can support your business. Both today and in the future. Our commitment and our experience should give you the reassurance you need. We operate a service model that puts your clients at the heart of everything we do, and we re proud of our award-winning reputation. 4

7 1. The platform provider (continued) 1.1 Who s the platform provider? Elevate Portfolio Services Limited - which trades as Elevate - is owned by Standard Life Savings Ltd (Standard Life), part of Standard Life Assurance Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Life Aberdeen plc. In 2017, the Standard Life Aberdeen group was formed by the merger of Standard Life plc and Aberdeen Asset Management plc. The Standard Life Aberdeen group continues to invest a significant amount in the platform business to support regulatory, legislative and propositional developments. Standard Life continues to support a vibrant adviser market in the UK with ongoing investment in platform development including delivering a range of enhancements to support your centralised investment and retirement propositions. For more information about the Standard Life Aberdeen group structure as 14 August 2017 click here. 1.2 Are you currently making a profit? In 2017 Standard Life Aberdeen plc made an adjusted profit before tax of 1,039 million. This is the first set of combined results for Standard Life plc and Aberdeen Asset Management. Figures are based on a pro forma basis. 1.3 How long has your company offered a platform proposition? Elevate has been operational in the market since December 2007 and was made available to the wider market from Q Elevate Portfolio Services Limited which trades as Elevate now forms part of Standard Life Aberdeen group. 1.4 What support and expertise are there to help develop my platform proposition? Your feedback helps drive key enhancements to our platform, shaping developments that are important to you, improving the service you offer your clients. Elevate is more than a technology solution. With a range of tools and services designed to support you in running your business more effectively, improving the service you can offer your clients and help to build long-term value in your business. We ve also a number of development phases over the coming years to help ensure Elevate can meet your changing needs. 1.5 How financially secure is your platform? Elevate is provided by Elevate Portfolio Services Limited, which was acquired by Standard Life Savings Ltd (part of Standard Life Aberdeen plc) in November Standard Life has been a leading provider of financial services since 1825 and is an FTSE listed company. With such a strong financial base, we re well placed to continue to invest in a leading innovative platform. 5

8 1. The platform provider (continued) 1.6 What ratings do you currently have? Standard Life Assurance Ltd has the following credit ratings (please note the B+ (platform) rating refers to Elevate Portfolio Services Ltd): Agency Rating Outlook Last reviewed Moody s A1 Stable October 2017 Standard & Poors A+ Stable May 2017 AKG A n/a January 2017 AKG B+ (platform) n/a April 2018 Group assets under administration ( AUA ) 654.9bn * Platform financial strength Elevate, Wrap and Fundzone combined 54bn Assets under administration (as at 31 December 2017) Circa 420 Thousand Customers on our platforms (as at 31 December 2017) Combined platform netflows of 7.0bn in the last 12 months (as at 31 December 2017) Working with around 3,000 adviser firms (as at 31 December 2017) * This is the first set of combined results for Standard Life plc and Aberdeen Asset Management. Figures are based on a pro forma basis.. Elevate has no automatic right of access to the assets of Standard Life Aberdeen plc. 6

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10 1. The platform provider (continued) 1.7 How would you describe your service reputation? We ve a strong service reputation. The performance of our operations department is measured by a number of metrics against our service targets: 80% of calls to be answered in 20 seconds. Around 87% service performance against 20 seconds target throughout 2017, with an average speed to answer of 18 seconds. 5% abandon rate. 2.02% of calls were abandoned during % first call resolution rate. If our Client Services team can t provide an immediate answer, we aim to respond within 24 hours. We re currently resolving 93% of calls first time. Above 90% quality of all processing work. Our Call Quality and Process Quality were consistently over 93% throughout (Figures as at 31 December 2017) 1.8 How would you describe the scalability of your platform? Elevate has been built with scale and can support 3,000 concurrent users and 100,000 transactions per day, with scalable IT infrastructure. With Elevate s efficient and automated business model and straight-through processing, most processes don t need manual intervention. For those processes that do, we aim to provide superior levels of service with the capability to rapidly scale up, if needed. 1.9 Is your platform proposition the core business for the owners of the platform? The acquisition of Elevate by Standard Life is a clear sign of Standard Life s continued commitment to the UK adviser platform market. Supporting your business and meeting the evolving needs of your clients is central to our long-term strategy Do you own your own platform technology? Elevate utilises a number technology components. These components are provided by Standard Life and our strategic partner FNZ (UK) Ltd. Much of the platform technology is owned by FNZ (UK) Ltd, but Standard Life has intellectual property rights on certain platform functionalities specifically in place for Standard Life s clients. This close relationship enables us to leverage FNZ s technological expertise while focusing on building propositions that suit both client and adviser needs How do you benchmark your proposition and have you won awards? We proactively seek to benchmark ourselves in the industry. Each year we use an independent research company to review the experience of a cross-section of the adviser community. This study reviews the whole of the Life and Pensions Industry so we can understand how Elevate is viewed at an adviser level against our peers. This data is key to the development of our strategy to ensure we continue to deliver market-leading propositions and client experience. 8

11 1. The platform provider (continued) We believe our reputation can also be demonstrated through the number of awards we ve received: Elevate awards and accreditations Schroders UK platform awards 2016 Best platform provider (AUM up to 15 billion) Best platform for adviser service Defaqto Gold for platform service 2018 Five star for platforms 2018 Five star for platforms 2016 Gold for platform service 2016 Investment life and pensions MoneyFact awards 2015 Winner - best wrap/platform Commended - best online service 1.12 Describe your business continuity and disaster recovery plans Standard Life Aberdeen plc s Business Continuity Programme is aligned with standards, industry best practice and the regulation governing our operations. Also, our Business Continuity Management System is accredited to the global standard ISO 22301:2012. The objective of our Policy and embedded approach to Business Continuity (BC) is to protect our client and corporate assets. We achieve this through our BC Programme. The BC Programme is sponsored by the Chief Executive with direct reporting to a member of the Executive Leadership Team and Enterprise Risk Management Committee. Our BC Programme is actively managed and reviewed in line with relevant factors in our internal and external environment. Each prgramme activity has a senior manager responsible for the strategy, delivery and review. Responsibilities are delivered in accordance with the Enterprise Risk Management Framework. This is assured through: Policy Control Self-Assessment Regulator review Internal and Supply Chain Due Diligence We ve got a well embedded approach to Business Continuity, incident Management and Disaster Recovery. Including clear accountability for implementation, maintenance, testing, rehearsing, and monitoring. This assures our capability to maintain business operations in the event of an incident. The same approach is used to review and manage our supply chain. We ve also got full data backup and recovery processes in place to facilitate both data recovery and a full disaster recovery. Along with the Primary Data Centre, we ve a Secondary Data Centre. Our secondary site is a fully functional data centre with sufficient systems and processing capacity to support all business-critical services. Should a major incident occur, the recovery processes ensure that critical services (including key elements of the Wrap service) can ordinarily be restored and active at the Secondary Data Centre within 24 hours. The Primary Data Centre and Secondary Data Centre mirror data from all systems and platforms. This provides recovery as at the last backup for some essential services. Operational IT who own, manage and govern the Disaster Recovery Process was accredited by the ISO IT Service Management standard, which is still current. 9

12 1. The platform provider (continued) 1.13 How do you ensure data and system security? The relationships we have with our customers, clients and financial adviser community are our most valuable assets. The security of your information is always of paramount importance to us. We will always act in your best interests, making robust risk decisions that protect you. Like all financial services companies, we operate in a challenging, constantly evolving cyber-crime environment. We have a strong commitment to our security and IT capabilities, including long-term security programmes, partnerships with third party specialists and a dedicated internal IT function. These are designed to protect our customer assets and information from misuse, the effects of crime and the impact of a significant disruption to our operations. We adopt a defence-in-depth approach to cyber security whereby we utilise layers of controls across a breadth of security domains, in order to protect both our perimeter and our internal assets. Any personal data collected, recorded or used in any way, whether on paper, online or any other media, will be processed in line with our obligations as published in our Privacy Policy. We ll ensure that appropriate safeguards are applied to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998, EU General Data Protection Regulation and other relevant regulation/legislation How can you evidence procurement and effective management of third-party providers? Elevate is contracted with a number of third-party providers to offer you with an additional source of expertise and market knowledge. One of these providers is FNZ. Elevate operates a comprehensive and detailed procurement process to ensure third parties can meet Elevate s high standards and values. To achieve effective management, we ve a robust oversight framework for key third parties. This includes the provision of Investment Transactions Services as well as the provision of the platform itself. 10

13 2. Terms and conditions 2. Terms and conditions Make sure you have a good read of the Terms and conditions of the platform you re considering. This is essential as this is a legal agreement between the platform and both you and your client. Consider the clauses carefully, so there ll be no unnecessary shocks in the future. 11

14 2. Terms and conditions (continued) 2.1 Where can I access the terms and conditions? See our Adviser terms of business. See our Client terms and conditions. 2.2 Who has to sign terms and conditions? You, as the adviser, and the client have to sign the relevant terms and conditions. 2.3 If either you or us, were to terminate the agreement, what s the notice and under what circumstances wouldn t this apply? Either party may terminate the agreement upon giving three months written notice. We may terminate the agreement with immediate effect without liability in the event of any of the following occurring: a. Material breach by the adviser or users (employees nominated by the adviser firm) or any person engaged in the agreement as set out by the Terms of Business b. Investigation, suspension or de-authorisation of the adviser under the Financial Services Markets Act 2000 or by the FCA c. The adviser or users engaging in any act of wilful misconduct, which may, in our opinion, impact upon us or our interests d. Suspension, cessation or reconstruction of the adviser s business, not limited to bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings or any creditor agreement or e. Any requirement by law, rule, regulating authority or government body. 2.4 If sufficient business is placed on the platform am I entitled to shares? Standard Life offers no share holding incentives in exchange for placing business onto Elevate. 2.5 Do you require my clients to maintain a minimum holding in a cash account before they can invest? There s no minimum holding requirement. For each of the Elevate product wrappers, clients can invest a single minimum payment of 1,000. The minimum regular payments are: 100 monthly 300 quarterly 500 half-yearly or 1,000 yearly While any new purchase requires suitable funds to be available, we don t impose a minimum amount in the cash balance. If there is not enough cash available in product wrapper at the point charges are collected, we will automatically sell investments to cover the required amount plus in accordance with the disinvestment strategy you choose. We reserve the right to request a minimum cash balance of 1% of the value of the product wrapper is held where charges have been unpaid and the investments cannot be sold automatically. 12

15 2. Terms and conditions (continued) 2.6 Do you have a best execution policy? Yes, we do. For more detail on this, please consult our Order Execution Policy. 2.7 What if I need to make a complaint? Standard Life has a robust complaints process in place which is fully compliant with all FCA and Financial Ombudsman (FOS) guidelines. You and your clients can submit complaints in writing, by or by calling us. We record all feedback via the same mechanism to ensure we capture all issues. Complaints are reviewed regularly and feed into the development of our proposition to make sure we are continuing to meet the needs of advisers and their clients. 2.8 What level of financial protection do my clients have when investing through Elevate? All your client assets are kept separately from Standard Life s assets. In the unlikely event that Elevate became insolvent, the full value of your clients assets would still be available to redeem. Elevate is a trading style of Elevate Portfolio Services Ltd, authorised and regulated by the FCA as an Investment Firm, so your clients would benefit from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection. If your clients have a valid claim against us in respect of the operation of or winding-up of the Elevate PIA, then they may be covered for 100% of the first 50,000 of their investment. If our external banking partner became insolvent, your clients might be covered under the FSCS for 100% of the first 85,000 of the money on deposit with that bank. The 85,000 limit will normally include cash held within the Elevate portfolio together with any other money held with that same bank. Details about our external banking partner are available on our website. Your clients may hold some assets with banks other than our external banking partner. If this is the case, they may also be covered under the FSCS for 100% of the first 85,000 of the money on deposit with that bank. Some banks are covered by schemes other than the FSCS. We ll give you information on any local compensation arrangement where this applies to you. The FSCS does not apply to: FCA recognised funds Unregulated funds or securities However, an FCA recognised fund or an unregulated fund may be covered by a local compensation arrangement. Details should be available from the relevant regulator s website. 13

16 3. Charges 3. Charges Platforms should be transparent, flexible and competitive. We pride ourselves on a clear and simple pricing structure. For customers, understanding the world of investments can be difficult. Which is why we ve made our platform pricing easier, with clearly defined charging tiers based upon the amount your client has invested in Elevate. With our tiered pricing structure, your clients are always charged the lowest portfolio charge based on the total value of their account. And when a reduced tier is reached, this charge applies to their whole portfolio. Your clients money can also move between funds with no extra charges for fund switching. 14

17 3. Charges (continued) 3.1 Describe your platform charging structure Our pricing structure is as flexible, clear and transparent as possible. This way our charges can be easily understood by you and your clients. Simple pay what you see tiered pricing it s easy to show your clients they re always charged the lowest price they qualify for on their whole investment Pre-funding of transactions Elevate is one of the few platforms that offers pre-funding for switches, cheques, and tax relief, to ensure your clients are in the market for longer No additional platform charges for fund switches, model portfolio functionality and tools such as the risk profile questionnaire Link family accounts clients linking family accounts can see their charges fall even further by qualifying for a lower price tier Please note Details of when charges may change can be found in Elevate Guide to Charges 3.2 Which adviser charging options do you have available on your platform? Adviser charging options available on Elevate Initial Adviser Charge A one-off charge payable at wrapper opening, or when an additional contribution is made % of contribution or specific amount Initial Adviser Charge (Drawdown) A one-off charge payable from the value of the fund allocated to drawdown pension after PCLS has been deducted % of contribution or specific amount Spread Initial Adviser Charge You can set a total charge amount for the whole agreed term (which is then split by the payment frequencies) or You can just set the deduction amount per frequency for the term set (e.g. 10 monthly for ten years) Adviser Switch Charge A charge payable from the value of funds being switched % of value of funds realised Ad Hoc Adviser Charge A one-off charge available from cash within product wrapper or Elevate Cash Specific amount Ongoing Adviser Charge A recurring charge for ongoing service, payable monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually. Can be set independently for each product wrapper % of wrapper value or specific amount 3.3 What are the charges for re-registration on and off your platform? Elevate aims to make the transfer process as efficient and cost-effective as possible for all parties and doesn t have any charges for standard re-registration to another platform or provider. 15

18 3. Charges (continued) 3.4 Is there a facility to link clients accounts on your platform for charges, i.e. family members? Elevate offers linked accounts which can be held between spouses, civil partners and between parents and children. Your client may pay a lower Elevate Portfolio Charge if they ve a linked account. Holding a linked account means that the value of each account is added together to determine the rate of Elevate Portfolio Charge that will apply. For example, if a husband and wife had accounts of 300,000 and 500,000 each, the charge will be calculated on the combined value of 800,000. Based on this, each will be charged 0.33% p.a. Rather than the 0.36% p.a. they would be charged if the accounts were treated separately. 3.5 Are there any fund manager initial charges on the platform? Elevate accepts funds with an initial charge in only rare circumstances. Over 98% of all our funds have no initial charge. Initial charges are accepted if they relate to funds that are no longer open to new business, or circumstances where the initial charge is not a fund manager fee, but a fund expense. 3.6 Do you allow share trading on the platform (for example on ETFs)? Yes, we offer trading on a range of asset types on the platform which covers sterling denominated and London Stock Exchange (LSE) listed non-complex instruments only: Stocks and shares (traded in the UK) Investment Trusts Exchange Traded Funds Exchange Traded Notes Fixed-Interest Securities Debenture stock or other loan stock Permanent Interest Bearing Shares (PIBS) 3.7 How can securities be traded? There are two ways of trading securities on Elevate: At Best clients orders are grouped (aggregated) together with any other orders for the same security. They re then traded in a single transaction at the best possible price available in the market at the cut off time. This means clients could benefit from lower trading charges, depending how many clients are trading at the same time Quote and Deal the adviser or discretionary manager will request a price (the quote) and have approximately 10 seconds to decide whether to accept (deal) or reject it. If accepted, the order is transmitted to execution immediately *Quote & Deal is a trading mechanism where a client can place and complete a trade instantaneously (and can t by definition be aggregated). **At Best is a trading mechanism where all trades placed will be held and traded at 15:00 hours. If more than one of the same share is placed during the day, the shares will be aggregated and traded as one. This creates cost efficiencies. 3.8 What are the stockbroking charges? Stockbroking charges are tiered based on the type of security and amount of trades being aggregated. The client charges (for a buy or sell) are as follows: Quote & Deal* ETF NON-ETF Each trade At Best** ETF NON-ETF Number of aggregated trades

19 4. Wrappers 4. Wrappers Understanding a platform s proposition helps you establish whether it s sufficient for your clients needs. We offer a wide range of product wrappers. Since they re available through Elevate, you can review and manage them all in one place. 17

20 4. Wrappers (continued) 4.1 Which wrappers can be held in your platform? The following table outlines the wrappers available on the Elevate platform as well as their key features. All on platform wrappers benefit from straight-through processing no paper forms or additional client signatures once their account is opened. A consistent investment strategy can be applied to all wrappers (subject to regulation). In addition to the tax wrappers mentioned, our reporting tool, Memoitem, enables off platform assets to be recorded and valued on Elevate, providing a complete picture of your clients wealth. Elevate wrapper types and description. Wrapper type General Investment Account (GIA) Stocks and shares Individual Savings Account (ISA) Pension Investment Account (PIA) Elevate General Investment Account (GIA) for third-party product providers Description An unwrapped product which can be used to hold general investments. As is the case with the Elevate ISA, an income can be drawn down through the Elevate Cash Account or taken directly from the product wrapper. The Elevate ISA enables current and previous years stocks and shares and cash ISAs to be consolidated and managed within a tax-efficient environment. Like our other wrappers, the Elevate ISA allows you to perform in-specie registrations avoiding the need for investments to be en-cashed and suffering out of market time. Regular withdrawals from the ISA are permitted into the cash account or client s bank account at any time. The Elevate PIA is a SIPP which allows consolidation of various pension holdings. Eligible contributions benefit pre-funding of tax relief and offers full Pension Freedoms flexibility. One of the unique features of the Elevate PIA is the online drawdown facility which enables you to crystallise benefits and manage income reviews and payment strategies for clients directly through the platform. Pension benefit options include uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS) withdrawals, flexi-access drawdown, regular flexi-access drawdown and capped drawdown for those clients that already have or are transferring capped drawdown arrangements. The Elevate GIA can also be used to hold investments from products provided by third- party providers (International Bond or pension provider only). This allows you to combine the unique features or tax benefits of a specific product with the investment range and trading flexibility of Elevate. It can also be helpful where product exit charges make it more beneficial to keep the existing product wrapper and move the assets to Elevate rather than transferring the whole product. For those third-party products accessible through Elevate, this will enable you to easily set up and manage a consistent investment strategy across a client s portfolio as well as apply a consistent charging structure. Remember, the value of investments can fall as well as rise and isn t guaranteed, and your clients could get back less than they invest. Elevate cash account Elevate provides clients with a centralised Elevate Cash facility in their account, in addition to a cash element included in each of the product wrappers. Elevate Cash can be used to pay money into and out of the Elevate account and to move money between wrappers, while the cash element within each product wrapper is used for dividend and interest payments, to pay charges or to hold cash ahead of investing. 18

21 4. Wrappers (continued) Elevate cash interest rate Interest is payable on money held in Elevate cash accounts at a rate set by us (PIA cash interest is set by banking partner). Interest is calculated daily and credited to the account each month. You ll find more information in Elevate guide to charges. Elevate GIA, Elevate ISA and Elevate Cash We pool the cash holdings of Elevate GIA and Elevate ISA customers in addition to customer holdings in Elevate Cash and money deposited by customers who use other investment services provided by us. We then deposit this total amount across client money bank account(s) and banking partner(s). Elevate PIA interest Our banking partner(s) set the rate of interest paid on cash held in the trustee bank account for the Elevate PIA. 4.2 Is there an ISA tax wrapper? Yes. The Elevate ISA enables current and previous years Stocks and Shares ISAs to be consolidated and managed within a tax-efficient environment. The ISA allows in-specie re-registrations, avoiding the need for investments to be en-cashed and suffering out of the market time. Charges for the ISA can be levied against the General Investment Account to allow maximum tax efficient growth. 4.3 Is there a personal pension? The Elevate PIA is a SIPP which allows consolidation of various pension holdings. Eligible contributions benefit from tax relief. A unique feature of the Elevate PIA is the online drawdown facility enabling you to crystallise benefits and manage income reviews and payment strategies for your clients directly. Pension benefits include Uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS) withdrawals, flexi-access drawdown, regular flexi-access drawdown and capped drawdown for your clients that already have or are transferring capped drawdown arrangements in. 4.4 Are there any additional product charges? No. Elevate doesn t have any additional products charges, withdrawal fees or exit penalties. 19

22 4. Wrappers (continued) 4.5 Who are your third party providers? Current third party providers of SIPP, SSAS and pension plans on Elevate 3rd party name Products available Barnett Waddingham SIPP LLP BW SIPP Barnett Waddingham Flexible SIPP Curtis Banks Plc Hornbuckle Mitchell Investaac Pension Admin Limited MPAS SIPP The Montpelier SIPP The Private Pension Flexible income Pension Plan Hornbuckle Mitchell Private Pension Minerva SIPP The Montpelier Protected Rights SIPP The Curtis Banks SIPP Flexible Pension Plan SSAS Intelligent Money Ltd Intelligent Pension Intelligent SIPP London & Colonial Assurance Plc London & Colonial Services Limited Pointon York Prosper Talbot & Muir SIPP LLP Open Annuity New Open Annuity Open SIPP Pointon York Individual SIPP Pointon York e-sipp Pointon York Single Investment SIPP Prosper SIPP T&M SIPP EU Open Annuity Pointon York Corporate (Group) SIPP Pointon York Sharia Compliant SIPPs Pointon York Family Trust Current third party providers of International Bonds on Elevate 3rd party name Canada Life International Isle Of Man Assurance Group (IOMA) Products available Accelerated Access Account Control Access Account Estate Preservation Account Estate Control Bond Estate Transfer Bond Inheritance Planning Account Premiere Account Wealth Preservation Account Estate Management Bond Utmost Wealth Management Evolution Estate Planning Bond Standard Life International International Bond 4.6 Is there an onshore bond? Elevate doesn t offer this. 20

23 5. Funds 5. Funds We understand quality, choice and cost are important factors when selecting investments for your clients. That s why Elevate offers a comprehensive range of funds including an extensive collection of discounted share classes. With a range of over 5,000 funds from over 150 fund managers available, Elevate can help you meet the investment needs of your clients. 21

24 5. Funds (continued) 5.1 How many funds are available? We offer a range of over 5,000 funds on the platform, covering both onshore and international, from over 150 fund managers, and over 400 discounted share classes and this is always expanding. Also, Elevate gives access to sterling denominated stocks and shares which includes investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Elevate constantly monitors the range of funds available to the UK market, through its relationships with the fund groups and its own research through this continuous monitoring we re confident that we ll always offer a range of funds representative of the whole universe, covering all the asset classes and investment styles available to UK retail investors. 5.2 How many fund managers are there on the platform? At the end of June 2017, Elevate had over 150 fund managers on platform and, this is forever expanding. 5.3 How do you select the funds that you offer? Our overarching aim is to offer representative access to the entire investment universe. All this supplemented by adviser demand and operating within our investment governance process. 5.4 Is the fund range consistent across all wrappers? Yes. Elevate s policy is to offer each fund across our entire suite of wrappers wherever possible while complying with any eligibility criteria for each of those wrappers. 5.5 Are there unwrapped unit trust/oeic funds? Yes. The Elevate GIA is an unwrapped investment account with access to every eligible asset available on the platform. It also helps you get a single view and monitor this broad range of funds. The Elevate GIA acts as a flexible unwrapped product which can be used to hold general investments and provides options to plan around the Capital Gains Tax aspects of the HM Revenue & Customs tax regime. The Elevate GIA has its own product wrapper cash facility from which charges and remuneration can be paid. The product wrapper cash also enables your client to hold cash pending an investment decision, and take income via single or regular payments. 5.6 What are the benefits for an adviser firm placing funds on the platform? Our platform solution is flexible to your needs with straight-through processing, comprehensive support, a range of tax wrappers and investment options all available under a competitive and transparent pricing structure. We may be able to negotiate preferential terms with fund managers which we can share with platform users. 5.7 What s the flexibility to accommodate additional funds? Elevate aims to represent the whole investment universe. The fund range is continuously updated with any fund that either has demand from the market, or strengthens the proposition. Any fund added must meet our strict governance and operational requirements to ensure clients assets are protected. 5.8 What due diligence is carried before adding funds onto the platform? All funds and fund groups meet our strict service standards. We also run due diligence at corporate and investment levels, which involves face to face meetings when required (e.g. new or little-known fund groups and novel investment techniques). Elevate makes no judgement on the investment qualities of any particular fund, but reserves the right to reject any fund we believe puts Standard Life s reputation at risk. 22

25 6. Other investment options 6. Other investment options You may currently use a range of asset classes for your clients. Will these be available on your chosen platforms? Can they offer a diverse range of funds to meet your clients changing needs? Our Elevate platform offers a wide selection of assets to choose from. With such a diverse range, you can select investments to suit a wide variety of clients. Whatever their attitude to risk or investment goals, you ll also be able to build a portfolio to help match their requirements. 23

26 6. Other investment options (continued) 6.1 What other assets are available on the platform? We offer you a wide range of investment funds and access to FTSE listed Stocks and Shares which cover all the Investment Association (IA) sectors. Through Elevate cash account we offer the ability to manage liquidity through client portfolios. Elevate cash enables cash to be held separately from the wrapper cash element of each tax wrapper. We offer many FCA recognised international funds. We insist on FCA recognition to ensure they re UK retail friendly. They must also have distributing/reporting status to assist tax treatment and traded in GBP. We also offer, on application, access to unregulated funds that may be domiciled internationally. There are no limitations provided we can process/administer an asset, it s traded in GBP, and it meets our operational, ethical and commercial requirements. We offer structured products only if in an open-ended structure. We don t currently provide access to complex products such as medium-term notes and options. Remember, the value of an investment can fall as well as rise and isn t guaranteed this means that clients could get back less than they invest. 6.2 Are non-daily priced dealing funds available (e.g. hedge funds)? Hedge funds are available subject to a successful business case. 6.3 Do you offer multiple currency share classes? At this time Elevate only offers access to sterling denominated investments, so only GBP priced share classes are available. 6.4 Does your platform offer fixed-term deposits? Yes, Elevate gives you and your clients access to different fixed-term deposit providers, who ll all offer a variety of interest rates and fixed terms. Please note, that this is only available on the Elevate Pension Investment Account (PIA). This means you can work together with your clients to choose the interest rates and fixed terms that best suit their needs. In return for investing their money for a fixed period, clients benefit from a specified rate of interest. The interest rate received is fixed at the start and paid into your clients product wrapper cash account at the end of its term, along with the amount invested. Your client cannot withdraw, transfer or switch their money until the end of the term of the fixed term deposit, other than in exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances are determined by each fixed term deposit provider, who may impose a charge for early withdrawal. 6.5 What type of individual clients can manage their investments on your platform? In addition to retail clients introduced and managed by you, Elevate can cater for a range of other client groups including: Trustees Pension providers Bond providers 24

27 7. Functionality 7. Functionality Functionality plays a big part in your platform choice. Technology in the platform market has improved enormously in recent years. We ve built our Elevate platform using leading technology. It delivers a variety of features that aim to make investing simpler, from transparent charging to two-way integration. 25

28 7. Functionality (continued) 7.1 What s the process for an individual converting from capped drawdown on your SIPP to FAD? The Elevate PIA offers a range of income options with the facility to set-up one-off or regular payments. You can take different initial and on-going withdrawals. Plus, generate tax-efficient income using regular tax free cash payments. It also provides capped drawdown functionality. If multiple arrangements already exist (because of transfers in), benefits will continue to be held in separate arrangements until they re converted. Arrangements can be converted using our straight-through, on-platform process. 7.2 What s the level of straight-through processing offered by the platform? FNZ operates straight-through processing with most fund managers. Over 98% of trades on Elevate (e.g. subscriptions, redemptions, switches, both one-off and regulars) are placed with fund managers, electronically. 7.3 Do you support re-registration of assets? Yes, where possible, we support the re-registration of assets both on and off-platform. We aim to make the transfer process as efficient and cost effective as possible for all parties. There are no charges for standard re-registration to another platform or provider. 7.4 How do you process re-registration of assets from other platforms? We accept re-registration of assets from other platforms and provider/nominees. The process involves sending the request to the ceding company and chasing the assets until confirmation has been received. A chase will happen, if relevant, after five days and again every subsequent ten days. Once confirmation has been received, the funds will be available on the platform. In July 2013, we launched an automatic re-registration system so you can undertake electronic platform to platform transfers of assets, giving you and your clients the freedom to move assets easily. We ve worked with FNZ and Calastone to trial and deliver this, and we ll continue to develop and enhance it. 7.5 Does the platform provide an online audit trail? Yes, all your activity, conducted on behalf of your client is recorded against each account providing a detailed audit trail. 7.6 Can the platform record non-platform assets? Yes. This can be done in two ways: making a note of holdings (e.g. Artwork, stamp collection) and holding of third-party products (e.g. pension product, International Bond). You can also record off-platform assets through Elevate s Memoitem functionality. This gives users the ability to record and value off-platform or legacy assets. These assets can be grouped by tax wrapper and automatically valued where the underlying asset is held on platform and receives a live data feed. Where a price link is unavailable for a specific asset, you d need to input the relevant investment and update its value. 7.7 Does Elevate support regular re-balancing? Yes, Elevate allows users to manage their client portfolios within a model by either re-balancing the mix back to the intended proportions or by editing the model to a new investment mix then upgrading selected clients to the latest version of the model. 26

29 7. Functionality (continued) 7.8 Is there a phased investment option for my clients? Yes, Elevate has a phased investment option for clients that applies to all product wrappers. Phased investing may reduce the risk of buying at the wrong time by spreading the investment over time and several investment dates, although there s no guarantee it will be beneficial. In a falling market, clients benefit from the effect of Pound Cost Averaging, purchasing a larger number of units over the period than they would by investing a lump-sum. Phased investment requires the lump sum to be paid into the product wrapper cash account and the setting up of a regular investment instruction into the chosen holdings over time (including Model Portfolios). The same functionality can be used to create advance investment orders. By selecting a start date for investment and then using the Continue and Set Date function to end the regular purchase the day after. This way the user has total flexibility to create a bespoke investment strategy to suit your client s needs. 7.9 Do you allow my clients to take fund specific withdrawals? Yes, we do this in the following ways. Regular or one-off withdrawals can be set up at wrapper level and funded from either existing wrapper cash holdings or by selling units from specified investments. Any income generated by an investment can be paid into wrapper cash or, for GIA and ISA wrappers (not PIA), paid out as natural income to the client s bank account. Here s how payment of natural income will be dealt with: Clients can elect to receive natural income in respect of investments managed by you. Where clients elect to receive natural income, this option will be applied to all the types of income received. There are no minimum or maximum amounts of natural income payments. Natural income will be paid out to the client s nominated bank account(s) as soon as reasonably practicable after we receive it. Natural income payments will be made to a client s nominated bank account(s) through BACS If, before payment of natural income, there s insufficient cash available in a client s GIA Cash and/ or ISA Cash to pay any agreed charges due, the income received will be paid into the relevant GIA Cash and/or ISA Cash and used to settle the amount. Any remaining natural income will be paid to a client s nominated bank account(s) as soon as practicable. If the amount of income received is insufficient to meet the agreed charges due, no natural income will be paid 7.10 Do you offer a bed and ISA facility? Yes, you can move cash held in the GIA into the ISA in one simple process What s the speed of processing investment instructions allowed by the platform (execution only)? For more information, please consult our Order Execution Policy document (this can be provided at your request by your allocated Business Development Manager). 27

30 7. Functionality (continued) 7.12 What reporting is available? There are over 40 reports available that can be generated directly from the platform, e.g.: Holdings and asset allocation including investments and cash (i.e. business reports) Management information (MI) including funds under management (FUM) by asset (i.e. adviser reports) Client reports Tools Asset allocation Cash balances Client listings Investment instructions Total holdings Remuneration statement Charges information document Description Displays associated investments split by asset type, e.g. GIA, ISA etc. Each asset displayed as a percentage and as a monetary value. Displays the percentage of products held as cash, by your client. This details the amount of cash held within the product wrapper (i.e. located outside of investment). Displays the full client list by adviser and includes their portfolio value. Provides a breakdown of transactions per client over the specified period. Displays the total holdings by Investment and Asset sector for each client (please note, this will include unwrapped assets listed under Memoitem). View remuneration statements (automatically uploaded on the 25th of each month) or request an ad hoc remuneration report. Explains the charges associated with your client s investments made through Elevate and details any adviser charges agreed to be paid from their product wrapper(s). It also provides fund specific information, such as fund manager charges and any fund manager rebates. Adviser reports Portfolioscan for Model Adviser Portfolios Individual fund fact sheets Key Investment Documents (KIDs) and Key investor information documents (KIIDs) Client reports CGT report Portfolioscan Transaction listing Client valuation Individual client fund fact sheets Description Consolidated analysis of all funds contained in the constructed adviser fund portfolio. This is broken down to include all the details that can be found in individual fund facts sheets but within a consolidated PDF document. Individual fund fact sheets are available for all open traded funds offered by Elevate in a PDF format. Individual KIDS and KIIDs are available for all traded funds offered by Elevate in a PDF format. Description Capital Gains Tax report presents data so you can calculate your client s capital gains tax liabilities, for investments held. Detailed analysis of your client s portfolio, including detailed information on all underlying holdings all consolidated within one document. This can be generated between specified periods. Detailed breakdown of all transactional activity within your clients account between two chosen dates. Produced in PDF form. Detailed portfolio valuation, which may also include Memoitems, can be generated at any present or past date. Produced in PDF form. Individual client-facing fund fact sheets for all funds offered within Elevate are available in PDF format. 28

31 7. Functionality (continued) 7.13 Can I build and maintain my own model portfolios? Elevate has functionality which provides you with the ability to create model portfolios. These can be defined at client, adviser or firm level. You ve total version control as the model creator to use, edit and name models. Asset allocation functionality Elevate Adviser Model Portfolios provide you with an intelligent fund filter to help keep track of sector allocations and actual underlying holdings. It also helps to ensure funds are suitable for specific wrappers and charging structures. We provide distinct types of Model Portfolios within Elevate, with unique features: Adviser Model Portfolios: Created and managed at adviser or firm level Can be applied across a number of different clients and wrappers Enables efficient investment for clients with similar needs Client-specific Model Portfolios: Created and managed at adviser or firm level Applied to one client only, but can be used across different wrappers in the same client account 7.14 What are the functionalities available for rebalancing, editing and upgrading model portfolios? You can re-align a client s asset allocation to the existing model/objective within Elevate s functionality. Simply submit the client for a rebalance, produce a Charges Information Document and authorise in the Disclose and Authorise screen. The Model Portfolio functionality can also upgrade a client from a historic version to a new version of the same model in the same way. The rebalance and upgrade functions create the series of trades needed to make your client s investments match the required version of the model existing or new. Where investments are common, the platform only sells and buys the necessary proportions. It doesn t sell and re-buy the entire holding Can I white-label client reports generated through Elevate s portfolio planning tool? Yes, Elevate can offer this. Building your brand through your own logo, colour scheme and URL address Do you offer pre-funding? Most investment platforms wait for your clients funds to clear before they invest them. We don t. We invest your clients money without delay. Elevate pre-funds the following: Cheque clearance Tax relief Fund switches 29

32 7. Functionality (continued) Without pre-funding clients could miss out on the following days in the market and any associated gains: On average 65 days worth of potential growth waiting for tax relief on every payment On average 6 days worth of potential growth waiting for switches to settle for every switch On average 4 days worth of potential growth waiting for cheques to clear for every payment The benefits of pre-funding are extensive. Your clients funds are invested faster and are in the market longer. Your client has certainty and consistency regarding when rebates are paid and tax due. In 2016, we pre-funded 2.5 billion worth of transactions on Elevate Is there an option for my clients to have paperless accounts? Yes, clients can choose to receive document in the post or online. With instant access to documents, clients can view, print and save. For those that choose to opt out, Elevate has an automated alert system that notifies clients via when they ve important documents to review. This solution balances both your clients and your needs with our own regulatory obligations. For security reasons, certain documents will be sent by post including details of a client s change of address and any withdrawal confirmations Do you have income review alerts? Yes, you can select your own choice of date for flexi-access drawdown reviews and receive an Elevate alert when this is due What s the process for an individual converting from capped drawdown on your SIPP to FAD? Flexi-access drawdown is available to new and existing Elevate Pension Investment accounts in full or partial drawdown. The Elevate PIA offers a range of income options with the facility to set-up one-off or regular payments. You can take different initial and on-going withdrawals. Plus, generate tax-efficient income using regular PCLS payments. It also provides capped drawdown functionality. If multiple arrangements already exist (because of transfers in), benefits will continue to be held in separate arrangements until they re converted. Arrangements can be converted using our straight-through, on-platform process Is there a limit on the number of withdrawals for UFPLS or limit on the size of withdrawals? No. Clients can withdraw the entire fund, withdraw lump sums or take a regular income. There s also the flexibility to crystallise part of the whole pension fund to make withdrawals in the most taxefficient way. 30

33 7. Functionality (continued) Product key points Feature Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum Full or partial Flexi-access drawdown From 6 April 2015 Full, partial or drip-feed (Regular) Capped drawdown Pre-6 April 2015 only Full, partial and phased Additional fund designation Pre-and post 6 April 2015 if capped drawdown set up by 5 April 2015 Full, partial and phased Elevate Pension Investment Account Key points Withdraw the full pension fund or partial amounts 25% of the payment will be tax-free, 75% will be taxed at client s marginal rate For clients not looking to set up regular withdrawals, this allows them to take out a lump sum to meet ad-hoc needs. Useful, for example, when needing to make a large purchase or meet an unforeseen expense. Only the amount withdrawn is crystallised Client s money purchase annual allowance limited to 4,000 Subject to passing lifetime allowance test Withdraw the entire fund, withdraw lump sums or take a regular income Flexibility to crystallise part or the whole pension fund to make withdrawals in the most tax-efficient way. Clients money purchase annual allowance limited to 4,000 if clients withdraw taxable income. Otherwise clients continue to enjoy 40,000 annual allowance Subject to 150% of GAD, existing Capped drawdown clients can continue taking regular taxable withdrawals after 5 April 2015 as long as a drawdown fund was established by 5 April 2015 Clients continue to enjoy annual allowance of 40,000 If at any point clients wish to access more than 150% of GAD, we can move them seamlessly into flexi-access drawdown If clients want to increase the amount they can withdraw subject to the capped drawdown points above they ll be able to crystallise additional funds from their pension, or transfer in additional capped drawdown funds from another policy Clients can take tax-free cash and/or taxable income from additional funds designated Clients continue to enjoy annual allowance of 40, What information is provided to help my firm run our client accounts? We provide previous day s market updates for valuations (for Elevate sourced assets), portfolio scans at the touch of a button, fund level factsheets, Key Investors Information documents and a Fund Research tool available on platform. Six-monthly client reports are also provided. 31

34 8. Accessibility 8. Accessibility Think about when you need to access the platform. Does it need to be out of office hours or at the weekend? Are you clear when the platform is available? We aim to give you the 24-hour access you need. Plus, the day-to-day management of accessibility needs to suit not only you, of course, but also your clients. 32

35 8. Accessibility (continued) 8.1 When is Elevate accessible to me? We aim to make the platform available 24-hours per day, every day other than when there s a planned functionality release on Saturday night from pm to am on Sunday morning. 8.2 Which back-office systems does Elevate allow integration with? The platform has two-way integration with, Intelliflo to help the pre-population of pension illustrations, new business applications, top-ups and applications for additional product wrappers for existing Elevate clients. Elevate s account details and documents from completed processes can also be shared between Elevate and these back-office systems together with an automated valuation feed and electronic remuneration statements. Elevate links with a number of other systems providing valuations (contract enquiry/bulk data import) and electronic remuneration statements. These include Plum Software, True Potential, Assyst Software, Fastrak, JCS, Durrell Software, Enable, (Best Practice Network) and Figure Out (2plan). 8.3 Can my client access the platform? If so what can they do? How can this be managed? The Elevate platform allows for client level view-only access. Clients can view their portfolio online, including transactions and performance information, and documentation. View-only access can be granted on a client-by-client basis at your discretion. In addition, the My Elevate investments ipad App is available as a free download from the Apple store. Here your clients can view their current investment portfolio, with up-to-the-minute information, wherever and whenever they want to. For more details visit elevateplatform.co.uk Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc. 8.4 What levels of access does your platform offer? With Elevate you can set up four user access levels which are discussed in detail as part of the on boarding process to ensure your users are set up appropriately, giving you greater control over your risk and compliance process. Creating a robust, consistent sales process by controlling access levels for your employees and providing a consistent client experience. The expert user (the person within your organisation with the greatest level of knowledge and access to the platform) will be provided with the training and privileges to control this. 8.5 What are the technology requirements to be compatible with Elevate? Elevate is a web-based solution, so access to the internet is needed. We recommend fast internet connection, especially if you do a lot of document uploading, as these will be larger than the web pages transferred as part of normal platform operation. If there ll be an increase in the traffic you process, you d need to factor this in. Computer software minimum recommendation is to run Windows XP or Vista on a machine with minimum 1GB RAM and Microsoft IE6, plus broadband connectivity to the Internet. While other configurations may work, the platform hasn t yet been specifically designed to work with other software and hardware such as Macs. Screens should support a screen resolution of 1024x768 pixels to avoid scrolling horizontally. 33

36 9. Additional tools 9. Additional tools Take some time to consider what other tools you want to use on your platform. What do you think will make your life easier? Elevate offers a range of tools and numerous useful resources to help save time, and keep you and your clients informed. Tools to help you research, shape and support investment decisions. Everything from a risk assessment tool to portfolio and review tools to help with tax-efficient withdrawal. 34

37 9. Additional tools (continued) 9.1 Which tools are provided as standard on Elevate? Elevate offers, as standard, a range of tools which facilitate the portfolio planning and review process. These include: Risk profiling and asset allocation Our Risk Profiler tool provides a psychometric evaluation of a client s attitude to risk, corresponding risk rating (on a scale of 1-7 and 1-10 by request only) and directly associated asset allocation models. The tool (offline and online) was developed using modelling and psychometrics supplied by evalue Investment Solutions. An 18-question psychometric questionnaire helps you to ascertain your client s attitude to investment risk and provides a suggested risk rating. evalue Investment Solutions also recommends asset allocation models to support the different risk ratings. The corresponding asset allocation is targeted for a 15-year time horizon and reviewed quarterly, ensuring the proposed asset mix remains relevant. Also, this risk profiling tool can: Amend the profile to be adopted, reasons for doing so will automatically be moved into client reports Access a fully auditable client record online (reports and ratings) Integrate with other tools Both online and offline versions produce a written report for your client confirming the questions answered, how the questionnaire works and includes possible target asset allocation. This is complemented by the addition of risk-rated actively managed model portfolios constructed and monitored by independent investment experts. We offer a printable copy of the risk questionnaire. A mobile Risk App is available and as a web application compatible with ipad and iphone devices and desktops. This can help you undertake a risk discussion with your client, capture their attitude to investment risk, and generate friendly reports, while on the move. The final risk score can be used on the platform in conjunction with Elevate s other investment tools. To access the Risk App visit riskapp.elevateplatform.co.uk Portfolioscan Produce comprehensive portfolio analysis tailored to the needs of your clients supporting the following features: Modular reporting options allow you to tailor reports based on the needs of your clients Portfolio breakdown by asset class, geographic region and stock sector Report actual portfolio (discrete and cumulative) performance and measure against popular benchmarks Fund performance and information Option to dual brand reports to include your logo Option to personalise reports with your own commentary and analysis word or PDF Generate easy to understand reports in either MS 35

38 9. Additional tools (continued) Pension Illustrations Provided by DST International Pension and Actuarial Services (PAS), based on a combination of inflationary factors and standard investment growth. Generating pension illustrations online to give a what if scenario. All illustrations generated are stored against the client record and accessible at a later date. Alerts Elevate offers a broad range of alert tools to help you in managing your clients accounts. You can tailor the alerts they receive, options include: Stock-broking alerts Order completion, corporate information, corporate actions Retirement alerts GAD review, pre-and post-retirement reminders Money management Benefit authorisation, income payments, insufficient funds, transfer completion Financial planning alerts Investment review, asset allocation changes, model portfolio edits Investment document library A document library that offers information on Investment Funds (e.g. OEICs and Unit Trusts), Exchange Traded Funds and Investment Trusts. It provides access to key investor information documents, adviser factsheets, private investor factsheets and simplified prospectus for non-ucits retail schemes (NURS). Fund research and selection Receiving data feeds from Financial Express, this tool gives an overview of an investment demonstrating past performance over a chosen period and sector breakdown. It works in conjunction with any pre-existing client investment range. It allows for preferred search criteria to be input and used to identify appropriate investments. This means you can conduct detailed investment research and build investment portfolios in an efficient and convenient manner. The Fund Research and Selection tool: Supports analysis of Investment Funds (e.g. OEICs and Unit Trusts), Exchange Traded Funds, Investment Trusts, Stocks, Shares and Gilts Provides multi-criteria search facility (e.g. price, performance, asset allocation, sector weightings, largest holdings, ratios, crown rating etc.) Offers access to fund fact-sheets as PDFs Enables analysis at varying levels of detail including asset allocation, sector and geographical breakdown and dynamic charting 36

39 9. Additional tools (continued) 9.2 Can tools be tailored? Yes, they can be tailored to your specification. For example, the output of the risk profiler can be changed to your preferred asset allocation model. 9.3 Are there any extra costs? There are no additional charges for any of your portfolio planning tools provided by Elevate. This is an integral part of our service proposition and key to supporting you and your clients through the advice process. 9.4 Is there a facility to turn off tools or limit access to them? Yes, this is possible and would be done during the platform configuration stage where access to certain investments and tools could be configured centrally and rolled out to the branch network. 9.5 To what extent can the tools support seamless execution of my business strategy? Our aim is to fully integrate all tools with the platform to ensure single keying of data and seamless execution of the desired solution. We understand that each business is unique and we offer the option to choose which elements of our tools to adopt. The tools we ll provide are based on consistent approaches and standards, ensuring you receive consistency across the platform. 37

40 10. Support services 10. Support services When you re working on the platform, does it deliver added value? Our platform was built to allow as much self-service as possible. However, we realise there ll be times when you need additional help and support. We re available to give this to you in a number of different ways. Visit elevateplatform.co.uk to find out more. 38