The firm said the model was designed to clearly separate the costs of investing and to give investors complete flexibility.
Additionally it views the pricing model as “good value to the end investor” and said that thanks to its financial strength and scale could provide confidence to advisers and their clients that the platform could sustain its price competitiveness over the long term.
Martin Davis, CEO of Cofunds, said: “Twelve months ago we pinned our colours to the mast and pledged to bring our new pricing model to market in Q3 2012. True to our word, our tiered model that rewards consolidated assets on the platform launched today, and it did so with overwhelming support for our drive for clean shares.
Since the start of the year most of the big fund groups have come forward with their “clean-fee” share classes and most have settled on 0.75% as the AMC.
Davis said Cofunds is aiming to have over 2,000 funds available by the end of the year, up from 1,700 now.
Key features of the new pricing model include:
• A fixed annual charge to cover all basic platform services
• No upfront or switching charges. Investors can make unlimited switches – all covered by the fixed platform charge. The unbundled model will be VAT-exempt
• A tiered percentage fee starting at 0.29% per annum and reducing to 0.15% per annum for assets of more than £1m, paid monthly
• The percentage tier calculation is based on all assets held on Cofunds, including ‘legacy assets’
• The Investment-based Platform Charge benefits the investor as they pay a decreasing percentage as their whole portfolio grows
