UK IFA firm Sterling McCall has launched a new investment facility using the discretionary platform service from Præmium, the Australian provider of online portfolio administration and separately managed account technology.

Præmium's discretionary platform service will provide Sterling McCall with their own branded platform on which they can “select” a discretionary fund manager to run investment models which can be blended to create client portfolios.

As Sterling McCall will run the service via its own platform, the firm retains control over the client relationship and can ensure that the mandates provided by the discretionary fund manager are appropriate for their client base, Præmium said in a statement.

Præmium’s model process structure will also allow Sterling McCall to blend the mandates to suit clients’ individual risk tolerance. The investor can then view their consolidated holdings within the associated tax wrappers.

"Using Præmium's platform has enabled us to appoint a discretionary manager to run mandates for our clients at a lower investment level than traditionally offered whilst allowing us to retain the relationship with our clients, which is very important to how we want to run our firm,” said Steve Moseley, managing director of Sterling McCall.

“The rebalancing process across client portfolios is the most efficient we have seen in terms of process and cost from all the platforms we have viewed; furthermore, reducing the high costs of trading by netting transactions should be of great benefit to our clients."

Sterling McCall is the first UK firm to use Præmium’s discretionary platform service, but John Martin, managing director of Præmium, expects to see many more firms sign up over the coming months.

"With the current changes in the market from Retail Distribution Review, advisors are looking to improve their service and provide a more transparent and bespoke service for their clients, whilst retaining control and building value in their business. Whether advisors are looking to become discretionary or not, most firms we are speaking with want more control over how their client money is run,” he said.