A poll by platform Nucleus asked advisors if they thought the re-registration process was easy and whether they thought it was right that platforms should charge for re-registration, but while only 7 per cent of those asked considered the re-registration process to be quick and easy, 84 per cent did not think it was acceptable for platforms to charge for re-registration.

The research revealed that 9.2 per cent of advisors considered easier transactions, including switching, transfers and re-registration, to be the top things they’d like a platform to either offer or do better. Nucleus has argued that the only barriers to swift and charge free re-registration are behavioural ones and is calling on the platform industry to re-think old ideas and give better service to advisors and clients.

“Conversations I’ve had in the industry have long suggested that advisors are not happy with the length of time that re-registration can take and are not happy that some platforms continue to levy charges, so I’m not surprised with these survey figures. The only surprising thing is that some platforms continue to take weeks to re-register assets and then charge for the privilege,” said David Ferguson, chief executive of Nucleus.

The poll of over 200 advisors was conducted in June 2013 by Nucleus.

As at 1 July 2013, assets under administration on the platform were £5.5 billion (around $8.4 billion), and the number of member firms was 170.