MANAGED ACCOUNT MARKET IN AUSTRALIA SHOWS STEADY GROWTH

Managed accounts are fast becoming a popular way for investors to access quality traders and investment services. Jackson Capitals MDA is certainly part of this growing trend. - Richard Jackson.

The total funds under management (FUM) held in managed accounts is expected to exceed $31 billion as the managed account market in Australia is substantial and growing quickly, the Institute of Managed Account Professionals (IMAP) said.

The 2016 study showed a breakdown of various types of managed accounts, with separately managed accounts (SMAs) accounting for $8.8 billion, managed discretionary accounts (MDA) amounting to $10.2 billion and other, including individually managed accounts (IMA), reaching $11.9 billion.

According to IMAP, this represented around a $13 billion growth in FUM comparing year-on-year.

Also, the managed accounts already proved to be a significant part of the retail financial services market with an equivalent of around five per cent of all investment assets held on platforms.

IMAP stressed that the growth in the inflow to managed accounts services was largely in platform based services rather than in "client own name" services, which showed the extent to which financial planners and advisers had adopted managed accounts as a way of delivering their overall advice services.

IMAP also noted that the inflow to managed accounts services had been strong since 2015 and was expected to continue to show strong growth this year.

Chair of IMAP, Toby Potter, said: "Managed accounts have been growing rapidly. However, because they can be SMAs, or MDAs or various other legal structures, it's been hard to be sure just how much is managed this way".

"We've surveyed almost all the organisations who have a managed account service and we estimate the investment pool is now over $30 billion. - source