Scottish Widows has merged its adviser platform and workplace businesses under one team as it pledges to be a “stable partner” to advisers.
Three weeks ago Graeme Bold took on the role of managing director for Scottish Widows’ workplace and intermediary wealth business.
He has been with the company for the past five years and before that was with M&G after 20 years with Standard Life.
Bold said it “made sense” to combine the two businesses and called it a “massive opportunity for growth”.
Scottish Widows bought the Embark platform in 2021 which it rebranded as Scottish Widows Platform last year.
Bold said its integration into the company, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, has been completed along with some upgrades to the platform.
He said advisers should not be worried about negative impacts from the merger of the teams.
“There shouldn't be any concern that there'll be a negative,” he said.
“Bringing them both together gives us a of critical mass in both the workplace and intermediary wealth spaces
“When you put the two things together, you're probably looking at over £150bn of assets across both platforms.
“My objective is to grow both lines of business and invest in these businesses through service and technology.”
The platform’s integration into Scottish Widows was overseen by Jackie Leiper, who became Embark Group chief executive in January 2022.
Scottish Widows says Leiper has now taken on a “broader role” which will see her cover customer and distribution across the company's insurance businesses, particularly as it develops its digital capabilities.
‘The market is oversupplied’
Bold said Scottish Widows is committed to investing in its platforms, amid changes in the market.
Just today, M&G announced it would exit the adviser platform market to “focus and rationalise” its wealth strategy.
“You could argue the market today is oversupplied in terms of the number of platforms out there,” said Bold.
“I want us to be a stable partner that helps an adviser build their business for the long term.
“We're a platform player. We're here to help advisers and we're going to invest in the core elements of being good at what we should be focused on.”
And Bold said combining the two businesses means the company can invest across both and can benefit from partnerships, including with technology firms.
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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