Rating Sector: DFM

Introduction

AKG assesses and rates companies and other entities within specific peer groups or sectors. Such peer groups are fundamentally designed to reflect how customers and their advisers consider companies for use.

The DFM Peer Group

This sector covers Discretionary Fund Managers (DFMs).

In the UK, financial advisers are required to consider the financial strength of organisations such as DFMs that they might use. Others also need information on which to assess Discretionary Fund Managers (DFMs).

The DFM sectors comprises a significant number of firms. Many are very small and only a relatively small proportion of these operate to any scale and extent in the intermediary market.

AKG DFM Financial Strength Assessment Reports are designed to cover the primary entities which fall within this description and are active in the UK intermediary market. They are thus primarily designed meet the information needs of advisers.

Rating Sector Origin and Evolution

Traditionally AKG’s focus has been predominantly on life companies. However, in light of the growing impact of other types of entity such as DFMs and the transformation that this is bringing to the financial services market in the UK, there has been an increasing demand from intermediaries in particular to widen the scope of entities that receive specialist AKG assessment.

Overall, the aim of AKG’s assessments is to provide independently evaluated information to assist in the choices made by the intermediary as well as to help in the understanding and appropriate development of the market. In line with its core focus, AKG’s assessment is primarily focussed on financial strength. AKG believes that a major consideration for an intermediary in selecting a DFM provider is the comfort and assurance that can be obtained from an independent, external assessment. It is an important component in seeking to avoid the operational complications and potential brand damage that would be incurred should a chosen DFM proposition encounter any financial difficulties, suffer a restriction on necessary investment to deliver required service and investment expertise/ capability, or in some other way ‘fail’.

The sector constituents are subject to ongoing review.

Rating and Report Availability

The ratings for this sector peer group are available in the AKG Rating Portal. More detailed assessment information and background together with ratings are available for many companies in reports within the DFM Financial Strength Assessment Reports series (the report series which corresponds to this sector peer group), which are available for Purchase online or by Contacting AKG.