Advisers treat platform and MPS as one system, not two decisions, research finds – Morningstar Wealth and the lang cat

Morningstar Wealth, in collaboration with the lang cat, has published new research exploring how effectively platforms and MPS work together, and why that alignment is becoming critical for financial advisers.

Based on research among more than 180 advice professionals, advisers increasingly view platforms and MPS not as separate choices, but as a single operating system for delivering advice.

A key finding is the importance of CIP capability: 82% of advisers say CIP capability is very important when selecting or reviewing platforms.

The research suggests a link between increased MPS usage and better alignment with retirement income strategies. Advisers were happier with the alignment between their CIP and platform where they used an MPS for clients.

One adviser, interviewed in the research, summed up the platform-MPS relationship: “The platform matters more than I expected. If it’s clunky, the ‘efficient’ model stops being efficient.”

Another adviser added: “Some platforms don’t run MPS as an entity; they run it as the sum of separate parts.”

The report – Unlocking the next phase of MPS growth: connecting platforms and MPS more effectively – dives into the practical dynamics, tensions and trade-offs shaping how MPS is used inside advice firms day-to-day.

The MPS market has grown substantially in recent years and confidence remains strong. Among the advisers who already use MPS for ‘most’ clients – but not all – 81% anticipate a further increase in usage.

Of all the advisers surveyed, 46% expect further growth in MPS usage. Of these, 27% expect material growth and 19% expect ‘some’ growth, with only 3% expecting a decline in MPS usage.

Steve Owen, Head of Proposition (EMEA) at Morningstar Wealth, said: “A consistent theme in the research is that advisers do not experience platform and MPS as separate decisions, but as one system. Where platforms still run MPS as a collection of separate parts, it becomes harder for firms to explain what they are recommending, harder to report on outcomes, and harder to evidence decisions within a CIP – often generating unhelpful ‘paperwork’ along the way.

“In practice, advisers are recommending an MPS solution, not the underlying holdings. How well that recommendation works day-to-day is shaped by platform capability, governance and reporting, rather than by portfolio design alone.”

Steve Nelson, insight director at the lang cat, added: “We wanted to get beyond the typical first order MPS debate (adoption charts, cost comparisons and performance headlines and the like) and look at what MPS usage really means inside advice firms day to day. We dug into what determines whether it feels like an enabler or a constraint for advice businesses, and how much the platform affects it in the adviser CIP.”