UK financial advisers believe focusing on portfolio management is costing them new business and affecting their ability to help clients with effective financial planning, analysis from Rathbones has shown.

The wealth manager’s study of independent financial advisers (IFA) found that 94 per cent of respondents felt their profession was best served by focusing on financial planning, to support clients in navigating changes to tax, pensions, and estate planning rules, rather than day-to-day investment management.

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of IFAs believed they could grow their business by up to 10 per cent in a year if more time spent managing portfolios was reallocated to client acquisition and financial planning.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) said this would help them grow their client base by between 11 per cent and 20 per cent.

The top portfolio management challenges reported by IFAs were time-consuming rebalancing (61 per cent), market responsiveness (55 per cent), and scalability (54 per cent).

More than half (51 per cent) said they would dedicate more time to financial planning and client service if portfolio management was handled by a provider.

Nine in 10 (90 per cent) IFAs expected to increase allocations to actively managed model portfolio service (MPS) solutions over the next three years, driven by economic uncertainty (73 per cent), rising market volatility (58 per cent), and demand for greater portfolio resilience (56 per cent).

The findings coincide with Rathbones launching an upgraded MPS, consolidating the suite of seven MPS portfolios into a single proposition.

Rathbones’ MPS offers a range of actively managed portfolios aligned to differing investment objectives and risk appetites, from adventurous to conservative.

The underlying funds are managed by Rathbones Asset Management head of multi-asset investments, David Coombs, and fund manager, Will McIntosh-Whyte, while the portfolios are managed by Rathbones investment director, Andrea Yung, who previously led MPS at IW&I.

“In today’s increasingly complex financial landscape, many advisers are stretched thin trying to balance investment management with comprehensive financial planning - often without the scale or support to do both effectively,” said Yung.

“Rathbones’ upgraded MPS is designed to ease that burden, giving advisers access to actively managed, resilient investment solutions. This allows them to focus on what truly differentiates their service: delivering forward-looking, holistic financial planning that meets the evolving needs of their clients.”

Coombs added: “The three funds within the Rathbones MPS are designed to work in harmony, providing financial advisers with access to a resilient, risk-managed portfolio that evolves over time. The portfolios are more agile, enabling us to respond swiftly to changing market conditions without relying on third-party decisions.

“By managing assets in-house, we maintain full visibility of each funds’ holdings and can implement changes with speed, confidence, and precision.”

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