Latest developments and enhancements

We continuously invest in our solutions to deliver improvements that you tell us matter most to your clients and your business. We undertake regular enhancements to optimise your platform experience, helping you to run your business more effectively and continue to enhance the service you offer your clients.

Wrap ESG Hub launch

We’ve launched a new fully integrated ESG Hub on Wrap, designed to support your client conversations on specific environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes and capture clients’ ESG investing preferences. 

Launch the ESG Hub by accessing Wrap in the usual way and selecting the ESG tab on the Client Summary page.

Meeting Sustainability Disclosure Requirements

In addition to the new ESG Hub, we’ve ensured that Wrap has been updated with the FCA’s new SDR requirements for UK investment funds. The regulations aim to improve the trust and transparency of sustainable investment products and reduce greenwashing.

The requirements mean that distributors of sustainable funds need to ensure that clients have access to information on a fund’s sustainability credentials. Labels and disclosure documents have now been added to Wrap journeys and the information is also available on the fund research functionality. We plan to add this information to Elevate in the next Release.

Changes to cash charges

Following our latest review, we’re simplifying our approach on Wrap to make it easier for clients to understand what they’re paying when they hold cash on the platform. We’ve updated the Wrap client terms and conditions to reflect these changes and the latest versions can be downloaded from the document centre. We will also be making similar changes to Elevate cash charging in the next Elevate Release.

Wrap usability and navigation improvements

We’ve listened to user feedback on how we can help create even more efficiencies when using Wrap. With this latest Release, you’ll see a number of simple navigation improvements to enhance ease of use and make it quicker to get what you need when using Wrap:

We’re aways keen to hear more of your feedback to help develop our platform for your business – join our Adviser Community today to find out how you can get involved.

Quicker account activation process

We're making changes so you'll be able to add new clients to abrdn Wrap much quicker. This means that there are important changes to the process from Monday 2 December which you should familiarise yourself with.

• You no longer need to send us a signed copy of the client terms and conditions before we activate a new Wrap account. This means in most cases we'll be able to activate an account within 48 hours of you submitting your instruction on Wrap. We recommend you upload the signed client documents to the platform once available as we will request a copy in future.
• For ISA/Personal Portfolio electronic transfers and SIPP cash transfers through Origo (including cash drawdown transfers), we will also initiate these within 48 hours for most requests – so you won’t need to send us signed documentation to start the transfer process.
• This process does not apply to paper transfers where we will still require the client to sign documents first.
• Please ensure that any new clients which you onboard to the platform sign the latest version of the T&Cs found in the document centre.

For a partial transfer, you should prefix the ceding scheme reference number field with “PARTIAL”. Then send us an email with the details of the amount of the partial to the mailbox. For ISA/PP transfers please email Transfers_In@abrdn.com and for SIPP Transfers please email Wrap_NB@abrdn.com.

When submitting a cash transfer from a bank or building society, please add the sort code to the same field as the account number is added to on the wizard on the platform, as we are unable to request the transfer without this detail.

We have updated our adviser terms of business to reflect the new account activation process and to make a few other small changes noted below:

• We clarified your responsibility as your clients’ agent and your authority to instruct transfer requests (sections 3.9 and 8.1).
• Your clients must meet our target market requirements to be eligible to invest using our platform, e.g. they must not be a U.S. Person (as defined in the terms of business), and you have to inform us if they no longer meet those requirements (sections 1.1 and 2.1. h) and i)).
• We clarified that the information we are asking you to provide to us to validate your clients’ instructions also includes application forms (section 2.1 o).
• If we receive a request from an investment provider, e.g. fund manager, concerning your business or clients, you are required to provide us with reasonable assistance to meet that request (section 2.1 r).