Managed accounts have become a cornerstone of Australia's investment landscape, with assets rapidly approaching $300bn and projected to exceed $470bn by 2030. Our 2025 Unlocking Advice Efficiencies report reveals the extent of this adoption: 58% of financial advice practices now use managed accounts, rising to 68% among high-growth practices. 92% of advisers have also reported time savings in portfolio administration, rebalancing, and client reporting. Perhaps most significantly, 67% of advisers believe managed account providers will be critical to their ability to deliver advice at scale.
By now, most advisers are comfortable with the benefits managed accounts offer both their practice and clients, while providers ramp up their efforts to capture market share. But with so many managed account providers in the market, and ongoing M&A activity reshaping the landscape, each claiming clear points of differentiation, how do you choose the right solution?
What to look for in a managed account provider
With over a decade of experience, we believe best practice is to approach this through a formal selection process that puts the needs of the advice firm at the centre of the decision making.
Whether the selection panel includes the practice principals, or a broader internal investment committee, developing a set of targeted questions via a Request for Proposal (RFP) document ensures a comprehensive evaluation.
Questions to include in your managed account RFP
Corporate structure and people
1. What is the corporate structure of the managed account provider, including its ownership and any related-party relationships?
2. Who are the key people involved in portfolio construction, and what is their experience?
3. Do the provider's directors meet fit-for-purpose requirements in terms of capability, experience and governance oversight?
Investment philosophy and process
4. What are the investment philosophy and guiding principles that underpin their portfolio management?
5. What process or guidelines are in place to select the underlying investments?
6. How are asset allocation views formed, implemented and reviewed?
7. Does the provider have access to qualitative investment research that supports client recommendations and helps identify risks early?
Technology
8. What technology or tools are used throughout the investment process?
Governance, conflicts of interest and legal structures
9. What legal and governance structures are in place to promote effective implementation and ongoing compliance?
10. Is the provider, or any affiliate or related party, currently subject to any ASIC investigation, enforcement action or non-routine regulatory review?
11. Is the provider, or any of its key managed account representatives, involved in any legal disputes, actions or settlements?
12. Does the provider hold equity interests in any advice practices that could influence product choice or portfolio decisions?
13. Does the provider manufacture financial products that are recommended to clients, or receive a financial benefit from products it recommends?
14. Does the provider or any related parties hold personal stakes in investments recommended to managed account clients?
15. Does the provider maintain a formal, up-to-date conflicts-of-interest register that's available for adviser review?
16. Does the provider have established, fully documented processes and procedures available for adviser review?
17. Does the provider ensure appropriate segregation across investment inputs, recommendations, execution, and risk reporting and oversight?
18. Can the provider demonstrate how its processes, governance and commercial arrangements support an adviser's Best Interest Duty and avoid structural conflicts?
Client reporting
19. How does the provider report to clients, and what is the reporting frequency?
20. Does the provider have contractual arrangements with third parties, free of its commercial influence, to support holdings-based performance analysis, attribution, sensitivity analysis, stress testing and liquidity analysis?
Want this as a working document? Download our Managed account provider RFP checklist and take these questions straight into your next provider review.
The next steps beyond the RFP request
The RFP can then be shared with the myriad of managed account providers in market, allowing them time to respond in a written formal manner. From there, a shortlist can be made based on the responses, whereby the managed account provider is invited to present their offer to the key decision makers in the practice.
This allows the decision makers to methodically identify which provider is going to best align to their practice, add value across all aspects of the portfolio construction process and ultimately allow advisers to focus on what really matters, the end client.
ASIC focus on managed account providers
ASIC’s recent enquiry announcement signals a focus on the managed account industry. As the sector has grown, so too have the concerns around vertical integration, fee transparency and potential conflicts of interest that may compromise portfolio independence and adviser objectivity. For advisers, this regulatory spotlight represents an opportunity to reassess provider relationships. Greater scrutiny will help distinguish providers with robust governance structures, operational independence, and transparent practices from those with structural conflicts or opaque operations.
If you’re considering a new managed account provider, reach out to our team for a no-obligation conversation.
