Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management UK (CGWM), a top-ten independent UK wealth management firm by assets under management, has been recognised as a preferred discretionary fund manager (DFM) firm for bespoke solutions in Defaqto’s 2024 DFM Satisfaction Study.
The study lists CGWM as a best-performing DFM Provider (top-three firms in satisfaction assessment scores) across seven key service categories and provides the basis for CGWM’s Gold DFM Service Rating for 2024.
Defaqto’s annual DFM Satisfaction Study gives a detailed assessment of service in the industry by measuring how satisfied advisers are with their current DFM providers and their performance in key service areas. This year, more DFMs qualified for a rating than ever before. This reflects the expanding variety of discretionary solutions being used by advisers, and the fierce competition for business in the outsourced DFM space.
Despite this increasing competition, CGWM saw an increase in the number of service categories where it is listed as a best performing DFM provider, based on the adviser assessments, in comparison to last year’s survey. The study asks advisers to rate their satisfaction levels, for DFMs, across fourteen different service categories; this year, CGWM were a best performing DFM provider across seven of the service categories, compared to five in the 2023 report. This included a leading assessment score (top three) in four of the five service categories marked as the most important by advisers, surveyed in the current study: the two ‘investment flexibility’ categories, ‘range of assets’ and ‘range of options’; ‘quality of investment staff’; and ‘service’, which was deemed the most important category overall by the respondents.
Lee McDowell, Head of Intermediaries Business Development at CGWM, commented: “We are proud to have been recognised by the IFA community that we work with as one of the top-three DFMs in seven of the key service areas. Our performance in the DFM Service Rating process, and representation in this year’s Defaqto Satisfaction Study give us crucial insights and the confidence that our professional partners’ service expectations are well met by Canaccord.”
As well as the study, CGWM has also received recognition from Defaqto via the 2024 DFM Star Ratings, released last month. CGWM is one of only eight DFMs to achieve three, 2024, 5 Star DFM Ratings, in the DFM Bespoke, DFM MPS Direct and DFM MPS on Platform classifications, as well as a Defaqto Gold DFM Service Rating. The CGWM DFM solutions were created via the merging of the Psigma Investment Management DFM solutions and the Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management services last year, as part of Canaccord’s acquisition of Punter Southall Wealth. Psigma’s primary bespoke and direct MPS propositions were consistently rated 5 Star by Defaqto for their respective Defaqto DFM Star Rating classifications from 2013, and these important validations have continued via the CGWM suite of intermediated discretionary solutions.
Defaqto’s Paul Tinkler, Head of Insight & Consulting commented: “The evolution of the intermediated DFM proposition market has accelerated over the past couple of years, and this has seen increases in the number of participants and the demand for robust, independent research tools, such as our ratings. The combination of proposition quality and a strength in service standards, which CGWM are demonstrating via their, 2024, Defaqto DFM Ratings is very important for the modern, outsourcing, adviser client.”
