- The lang cat has added STAR transfer participation and accreditation to Analyser
- This makes Analyser the first independent research and rating tool to include participation and accreditation across ISAs, GIAs and Personal Pensions including SIPP and SSAS
- This comes as Analyser adds multi-user feature
Analyser, the lang cat’s due diligence and research tool for advice professionals, has added STAR transfer participation and accreditation data, making it easier for advisers to compare and research platform transfer times and processes.
The tool from the lang cat now includes data on STAR participation and accreditation, allowing advisers to assess independently accredited transfer processes.
The new addition makes Analyser the first independent adviser research and suitability tool to include STAR datapoints across ISAs, GIAs and Personal Pensions including SIPP and SSAS.
Advisers can now consider transfer performance alongside hard facts like scale, financial strength, price and functionality as well as more subjective factors like service and past user experience when researching and comparing platforms.
This builds on Analyser’s existing coverage of whether a platform is a member of the Origo Options Transfer Service.
This addition follows Analyser’s recent multi-user development, which provides firm-wide access for up to three users within an advice firm as part of an Everything core annual subscription.
Terry Huddart, digital director at the lang cat, said:
“We're delighted to add STAR accreditation data to Analyser, alongside our existing Origo Options Transfer Service membership datapoint.
“A lot of client money moving onto, or between, platforms happens via transfers, and time lags or lack of clarity can be frustrating for advisers and clients. It's an area advisers have little direct control over. The client experience depends on the ceding and receiving providers, and the wider industry mechanics, working well.
“We've reviewed STAR's accreditation process and think it's a thorough one. It assesses transfer speed and best practice at product level, with providers awarded a specific band of accreditation rather than a simple pass or fail. It helps shine a light on this important part of the market, and rewards those going further on transparency and performance. Bringing STAR's accreditation ratings, and the level each provider has achieved, together with Origo membership in Analyser gives advisers a fuller picture of how providers perform on transfers.”
Andrew Marker, Chair of STAR, said:
“Poor transfer experiences cause frustration for advisers, uncertainty for clients and avoidable costs across the industry. Transfer performance is also one of the clearest tests of whether a platform can deliver on its promises, and as regulatory scrutiny of transfers increases, advisers need independent evidence of that performance.
“By bringing the full range of STAR accreditations into Analyser, the lang cat is giving advisers access to independent evidence of performance across the end-to-end transfer journey for both electronic and paper-based transfers.
“STAR accreditation for ISA and GIA is already available through Defaqto Engage. The inclusion of STAR accreditation categories in Analyser, including personal pensions, marks another important step towards making transfer performance a core part of adviser due diligence.
“We will continue working to make STAR information available to more advisers so that they can make better-informed decisions, while ensuring platforms, providers and asset managers that commit to improving transfers receive the recognition they deserve.”