Around 40 industry watchers and participants attended the inaugural meeting of the Institute of Managed Account Providers (IMAP) this morning. The aim of the non-profit organisation is to be the peak body representing the managed accounts industry in Australia.
One of the main agenda items was to figure out which particular issues the organisation should address and one of the dominant topics was how different providers have various definitions of ‘separately managed accounts’ (SMAs) and ‘independently managed accounts’ (IMAs).
“I think we need to address the key issue of clarity around our terminologies,” said Tracy Byrne, associate director of Direct Portfolio Services and host of the event.
Other issues tackled during the meeting were how to work with ratings agencies to rate their managed account products, cultivating a relationship with the regulators and a proposed education program to help financial advisers, dealer groups, researchers and prospective employees learn more about managed accounts.
The association hopes to have the consistent set of definitions and terminologies drafted ahead of their presentation at this year’s Financial Planning Association (FPA) conference in November.