Novia Financial, the adviser-focused platform business, is partnering with ESG Accord to support an initiative to provide advisers with free access to materials that address clients’ ESG concerns, enabling firms to embed investment and suitability processes.

Launching on 4^th July, the Accord Initiative will offer access to a suite of compliance, educational, CPD and regulatory analysis services via a website. The site will provide everything that financial advisers, compliance consultants, and paraplanners need to increase their knowledge and build an ESG and Sustainability framework into their advice process.

At the core of the site will be a free-to-access suitability framework that spans the full investment spectrum of capital and has been designed to be fit for purpose and in line with existing Consumer Duty, PROD, SDR and COBS requirements.

Patrick Mill, CEO at Novia, said: “We understand that meeting regulatory requirements can be onerous and at times daunting, especially with so much in flux at the moment. So, if we see an opportunity to help lighten that load a little, we’ll grab it. That’s why we’re supporting the Accord Initiative, it should provide welcome support in ensuring all advice professionals can put the right ESG compliance structures in place and be confident that they are delivering good ESG outcomes to their clients.”

Elly Dowding, Director of ESG Accord said: “Financial services play a key role in the transition to a more sustainable world, which is why we are committed to supporting advisers help their clients make informed choices for investment preferences across the spectrum of capital part of every advised clients’ financial advice journey. We aim to ensure the Accord Initiative delivers best practice compliance and advice solutions to support financial advisers, their clients and broader market participants”.

Advisers, paraplanners and compliance consultants can register their interest in the Accord Initiative here.

For further information please contact:

Sam Prince-Mernick, sam.prince-mernick@mrm-london.com /07471 351 584

Notes to Editor:

About Wealthtime

The Group in numbers

Private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners owns Wealthtime, Wealthtime Classic, and Copia Capital. Patrick Mill is CEO of all three businesses in the Group. Amber Financial Investments, which was acquired by AnaCap in 2020, was successfully migrated onto Wealthtime’s platform in Q1 2022.

Combined, the platforms have over £11.3bn of pension and investment assets under administration (AUA) and over 77,000 clients (as of 31^st March 2023). AUA is split £8.9bn and £2.4bn, Wealthtime and Wealthtime Classic respectively.

Copia Capital, the discretionary fund management (DFM) part of the Group is a pure B2B DFM which works exclusively with advisers to provide a range of managed portfolio services. These include its MPS Custom service, offering customised portfolios to advisers which are constructed to meet the adviser’s retail clients’ needs; its ‘ready to go’ MPS portfolio products; and the added-value MPS Plus range.

Transformation and the future

Since the acquisition of the platforms by AnaCap, the business has undergone a programme of transformation. It has strengthened the leadership team, bringing significant experience into the business, and has invested heavily in technology through the development of microservices, which will bring both efficiencies for adviser businesses and exciting new propositional features.

The business is set to lead the way in next-generation platforms enabling adviser firms to construct their technology stack as they see fit, making use of a comprehensive suite of plug-and-play microservices.

AboutESG Accord

ESG Accord is a technical compliance firm specialising in investment preferences and objectives spanning across the full spectrum of capital.

ESG Accord offers a range of services:

• Suitability compliance framework for the financial advice market. Critically from a regulatory perspective, the framework is for all clients and all funds
• Consultancy services for advice firms, networks and find managers etc
• Training and proposition development for fund groups, DFMs and tax efficient vehicle providers

Deep-dive independent industry reports for Climate, ESG & Sustainability across MPS and Tax Efficient Vehicles. MultiAsset is currently being developed