As of January 2015, charges will be removed for both new and existing customers as part of AXA Wealth’s response to the pension reforms.
Currently the firm’s annual charges for the Elevate platform are £12 per quarter for the Pension Investment Account and £20 per quarter for drawdown services.
The firm has said the change aims to “help advisers and their clients take advantage of the flexibility offered by the new pension rules”, while also increasing transparency and simplicity to make investing easier for all.
David Thompson, managing director of business development at Axa, said he expects flows onto platforms to accelerate in response to the pension changes.
“Platforms allow for wealth to be spread easily over multiple tax wrappers, offering flexible ways of retrieving income and a place to store and invest money,” he said.
“Despite the changes, advisers and their clients still fundamentally want to keep control over and grow their investments and generate a dependable income in retirement.”
Thompson added: “We want to support advisers in the conversations they are having with their clients around managing their wealth and how best to provide the required income in retirement.”
Axa has also announced the launch of a flexible drawdown service through the Elevate platform to add to its online income options.
