Tech firm Praemium taps into the wave of planning groups adopting the fixed-fee service model by expanding the features of its V-Wrap service, including a billing system custom-made for fixed-fee advisers.

It's taken Praemium 18 months of consultation and negotiation but today the group launched ‘Universal Wrap', an improved version of its V-wrap service.

Unlike the previous V-Wrap, the renamed service offers managed fund custody services, execution services, direct live share trading and stock research.

This was made possible through the group's partnership agreements with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, E*Trade and Powerwrap.

Arthur Naoumidis, group managing director of Praemium, said that to date, V-Wrap is used by around 200 planning firms, all of which have moved away from commission-based remuneration and are charging clients fixed fees.

Under Universal Wrap, these firms can now avail of lower-than-industry costs on admin fees but a broader range of execution services, driving fees even further, he said.

What's more, the fees are broken down to show clients how much they are paying for the admin, brokerage and other transaction-related fees as opposed to the actual advice - and the billing is all under the one system across various products including ETFs, SMAs, income-generating property, direct share trades and so on.

"What excites us at Praemium about this is that it takes V-Wrap to mainstream financial planning where it's not just SMAs [the group's foundation service] but into a whole suite of things that they already offer to their clients," said Naoumidis.