Beyond price: how wealth advisors and platforms can compete on clarity.

By Nathan Whittingham (Consultant) 

Not long ago, the UK wealth market had two clear ends. At one, platforms and apps gave confident investors cheap, self-directed access to markets. At the other, advisers and discretionary managers offered a personal service at a personal price.

That divide is closing, from both sides. Moneybox, built as a savings app, is preparing to roll out regulated advice powered by its own AI engine.¹ Moneyfarm describes its model as expert human guidance combined with technology,² and Vanguard, the champion of low-cost DIY investing, launched targeted support for first-time investors in July.³

The traditional end is moving just as purposefully. Quilter credits its record flows to a dual-distribution model,⁴ and Brooks Macdonald’s platform managed portfolio service grew 35% last year.⁵ Consolidation is fusing the two halves: NatWest’s purchase of Evelyn Partners brought financial planning and the Bestinvest platform under one roof.⁷

The destination appears the same: digital convenience, managed portfolios and human help on demand. The middle of the market is where the growth is, and it risks becoming increasingly crowded.

Three forces pushing everyone to the middle

Three forces are driving the convergence, and none of them are going away.

The first is regulation, which has opened a new space between guidance and advice. Since April, authorised firms can offer targeted support: ready-made suggestions for groups of customers in similar circumstances, without a full advice process.⁸ The FCA estimates around 23 million consumers are underserved by advice and guidance today.⁹

The second is the prize. According to the FCA’s Financial Lives survey, 61% of people with more than £10,000 of investible assets hold at least three-quarters of it in cash.¹⁰ Government, regulator and twenty firms are now backing a national campaign to turn savers into investors,¹¹ and whoever converts them will shape the market in the future.

The third is economics. The FCA is codifying its ban on “double dipping” on client cash,¹² and Brooks Macdonald and Rathbones have both stopped charging fees on cash holdings.^6,13 AJ Bell is cutting its core MPS charge from 0.15% to 0.12%,¹⁴ and revenue lines that once padded margins are thinning.

The cost of commoditisation

When everyone builds the same thing, clients compare on one thing: price. The fee cuts are a rational response to that market reality, but also an early sign of what happens when propositions blur.

A race to the bottom favours the few with the largest scale and the lowest costs. For everyone else, it erodes the margin needed to fund the service, technology and advice clients claim they want.

The national campaign sharpens the point. Category marketing can grow the pie, but it does not tell a first-time investor which firm to choose. That choice will go to the brands that are easiest to understand, and easiest to trust.

How to stand apart

In our work on wealth propositions, the hardest question is rarely what to build. It is identifying who the proposition is for, why they should care and how that should be messaged. Three moves separate the firms that answer it from those that fail.

1. Choose who you are for. A proposition built for everyone is chosen by no one in particular. Look to define your client by need and pain point, not just by asset band.
   
   
2. Own life stages, not a feature list. Features are easy to match and easy to copy; your ability to position and communicate value is more challenging. The first ISA, consolidating old pensions, turning savings into retirement income, receiving an inheritance: be the firm people think of when that moment arrives.
   
   
3. Make the human–digital mix deliberate. Hybrid should be a design choice, not a compromise. Be explicit about where a person appears, why and at what cost, so clients understand what the human contributes to their financial well-being.

None of these moves requires a new product. Each requires a sharper understanding of the market, your segment and your competitors.

Building for the future

The middle of the wealth market will be among the most contested ground in UK financial services. Every firm can now reach it. Few will be remembered there.

At KAE, we help wealth managers and platforms find and prove the difference clients will pay for. We combine client research, competitive intelligence and proposition strategy to turn a crowded market into a clear choice. If convergence is on your agenda, we would welcome the conversation.

Sources

1. Financial Planning Today, Moneybox preps regulated advice offering as assets climb to £22bn, 2026
2. Moneyfarm, Moneyfarm expands in the UK with Willis Owen acquisition
3. Money Marketing, Vanguard goes live with targeted support service, 27 July 2026
4. Quilter plc, 2026 Half Year Results Statement, 6 August 2026
5. Private Banker International, Brooks Macdonald FY26 inflows, July 2026
6. Professional Adviser, Brooks Macdonald sees flows swing to positive territory, 2026
7. The Paypers, NatWest completes GBP 2.7bn Evelyn Partners deal, 2 July 2026
8. Freeths, Targeted support and the advice gap, 2026
9. FCA, FCA opens authorisation gateway for targeted support, 2 March 2026
10. CMS, FCA: Financial Lives Survey 2024, May 2025
11. Investment Association, Britain encouraged to ‘Take The Next Step’ as a new national investing drive launches, 23 April 2026
12. Simmons & Simmons, Consumer Duty View+ – July 2026
13. MarketBeat, Rathbones Group H1 earnings call highlights, 29 July 2026
14. AJ Bell plc, FY26 Q3 trading update, 23 July 2026