Scottish Widows has released a range of updates to its platform as part of its £180m three-year investment aimed at enhancing functionality and service.

The updates, which have been rolled out in the first half of 2025, aim to help deliver better outcomes for advisers and their clients.

Following feedback from its adviser base and market insight, Scottish Widows has introduced a new set of five managed funds, the Managed Growth Funds.

These funds have different levels of risk and potential reward, and are designed to deliver growth by investing in a mix of assets to help clients meet their investment and retirement goals.

The firm has also introduced streamlined platform charges and information, with the ongoing platform charge now explained with charging tiers rather than a combined percentage rate, while any cash held outside a model portfolio is no longer subject to the ongoing platform charge.

A new digital functionality, Dripfeed Drawdown, has been integrated to help advisers’ clients take a regular income from their pension in a “flexible and tax-efficient way”.

Scottish Widows also announced platform user experience improvements, including model portfolio transactions, easier-to-schedule withdrawals, and enhanced validation and messaging on transactional journeys.

Future updates to the platform will aim to make it easier for advisers to do business, enhance client relationships, and navigate evolving regulatory requirements.

Specific updates will also include the introduction of a new multi-asset fund range, smoothed funds, and the development of an onshore bond.

“Our continued investment makes the Scottish Widows platform impossible to ignore,” said Scottish Widows managing director, workplace and intermediary wealth, Graeme Bold.

“We’ve introduced a raft of changes since the start of the year with even more planned for H2. We’re driven by our commitment to invest for the long term so that advisers can have confidence in working with us to support their clients and build their businesses.

“Working with and listening to advisers, we’re putting the user experience at the heart of everything we do, and we aim to deliver with practical solutions to make a real difference.

“Access to financial advice has never been more important, and we want to play our part as a partner to advisers, with a scaled platform that not only simplifies the day-to-day but also helps advisers deliver great client outcomes.”

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