Scottish Widows Platform has maintained its ‘A’ rating, the highest awarded for financial strength, from financial analytics firm AKG. Scottish Widows has also maintained its AKG ‘A’ rating at an overall provider level.
Financial strength focuses on the ability of a company to deliver ongoing operational capability in the interest of its customers and in line with their expectations. Scottish Widows Platform is one of only five UK platforms to hold the highest AKG platform rating of ‘A’, described as ‘superior’ financial strength.
AKG’s financial strength ratings provide financial advisers with an independent assessment of a company’s financial resilience. The financial strength assessment is centred on the operational business level but also considers the parental strength and support of Lloyds Banking Group.
Financial strength is an important consideration for advisers and investors given current market conditions and the impact of Consumer Duty. In Scottish Widows Platform’s recent Investor Confidence Barometer*, more than a third (35%) of advisers cited financial strength as a top issue which came up in their due diligence checks. A majority of surveyed advised clients were conscious of the importance of financial strength, with 62% stating that they knew the rating of their platform or provider.
Ross Easton, Head of Intermediary Platform Propositions, Scottish Widows commented: “The financial strength of Scottish Widows Platform and the broader Lloyds Banking Group is the cornerstone from which we continue to build a great proposition for advisers and their clients. We maintain that financial strength must include a platform’s ability to continually invest in its proposition, specifically regarding functionality, user experience and service. We’re currently in the middle of a three-year £180m investment programme into the platform business, with the ultimate goal of making our platform the ‘most loved’ by advisers.
“A huge benefit of being part of Lloyds Banking Group is the support we gain from one of the UK’s leading financial services companies, which includes robust financial strength – a key factor for advisers and their clients today. It’s great to see the continuation of the ‘A’ grade from AKG.”
Matt Ward, Communications Director, AKG said: “Scottish Widows Platform has thoroughly demonstrated it’s worthy of maintaining the ‘A’ grade awarded by us at AKG, the highest ranking we award for financial strength. While the fundamentals of the business remain sound, Lloyds Banking Group has continually injected capital to support longer-term transformation projects, and the platform’s approach to risk management remains robust.”
