While industry adoption remains at different stages, the direction of travel is clear.
More comparison providers now recognise that cash interest can have a meaningful impact on platform value and that advisers benefit from tools that reflect the real-world cost of investing. Here’s the status as we understand it.
Defaqto
Defaqto does not currently incorporate cash interest holdings when assessing platform charges, as its system is primarily designed to compare functionality rather than cost. However, you can apply a functionality filter that distinguishes between platforms that retain cash interest and those that do not. Defaqto has reviewed the accuracy of this data and removed a number of providers that were incorrectly categorised. As a result, the number of platforms meeting the filter criteria has reduced significantly.
As a further differentiator, our AKG rating is now displayed within Defaqto applying both the cash interest and AKG rating filters highlights the strength of our overall proposition.
SelectaPension
In our view, SelectaPension has made the most significant progress to date in trying to capture the true cost of retained cash interest. Initially, the system introduced functionality allowing you to apply a rebate percentage. This can be used to reflect cash offsets, negotiated terms and other pricing arrangements that are not hard coded into the system. The next phase of development is even more significant. SelectaPension is exploring a solution that would automatically incorporate cash interest offsets across the platform market, adjusting effective platform charges where a proportion of assets is held in cash. The key challenge remains sourcing accurate and consistently updated data across providers. SelectaPension is also considering the introduction of a filtering option similar to Defaqto's, allowing advisers to differentiate between providers that retain cash interest and those that do not.
Fintegrate
Fintegrate is developing a similar approach to SelectaPension's planned enhancement. Its proposal is to maintain regularly updated platform cash interest data and use this information to automatically calculate the impact of retained interest on overall platform costs. This would allow headline charges to be adjusted and presented on a more representative basis.
O&M
O&M is taking a proposal to its governance committee to consider incorporating cash holdings and cash interest into its Profiler calculations. If approved, O&M would explore an approach similar to that being developed by other comparison providers.
Other providers
At present, Analyser (Lang Cat) and Adviser Asset (FE/Nexus) do not incorporate cash interest holdings into their platform cost calculations. Both tools continue to compare platforms using headline charging structures only.
Summary of research provider development
Position today | Cash in charge comparison | Cash retained filter | Manual cash offset | Hard-coded scenarios | Automatic offsets | Next stated development | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Defaqto | Functionality-led comparison | — | ✓ | — | — | — | Internal teams considering further changes |
Selecta | Most developed current solution | ✓ | ○ | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | Automated offsets and retained/not-retained filter |
Fintegrate | Planned solution; build not confirmed | — | — | — | — | ○ | Monthly provider rates and adjusted headline charges |
O&M | Awaiting governance consideration | — | — | — | — | — | Governance approval to update Profiler calculations |
Analyser (LangCat) | Headline gross rates only | — | — | — | — | — | Internal discussion on whether to make changes |
Adviser Asset FE/Nexus | Headline gross rates only | — | — | — | — | — | Internal discussion on whether to make changes |
✓ Live ○ Planned — Not started
Note: Research was conducted in October 2026 and reflects our assessment of provider functionality and stated development plans at that time.