Novia Global and Morningstar Wealth Platforms are both global investment platforms that offer a range of investment options and services for financial advisors and their clients. Within this article, we compare Novia Global Vs Morningstar Wealth Platform.
Regulation:
The Novia Platform is registered in Jersey and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Morningstar Wealth International Limited is licensed in Jersey and is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission in the conduct of Investment Business.
Safety:
Novia Global – The custodian of the platform is Pershing, a subsidiary of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Pershing holds custody of over $2 trillion in global client assets and has a net capital of over $2 billion. Novia Global is a privately owned enterprise.
Morningstar Wealth Platform uses sub-custodians, such as Northern Trust one of the world’s largest custodians for the safe custody of client assets. Re Northern Trust, is the only bank with the highest AA rating at the Global Custodian level and holds over $10 trillion in assets under custody.
Morningstar, Inc. is a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ. With operations in 29 countries and more than 9,000 employees around the world,
Both platforms utlise segregated client accounts. This means your money is safe in the event of the insolvency of either company.
Cost/Charging Structure:
Novia Global – Global Investment Account (GIA)
Zero setup fee (although your adviser will charge you for the advice provided both initially and ongoing)
Ongoing platform fees are as follow:
| Fee per annum | Value |
| 0.25% | over £1m |
| 0.30% | under a £1m |
Pershing charge a custodian fee of 0.04%
Fees are taken monthly in arrears of the current value
You can find a complete breakdown of all fees including dealing charges here.
Morningstar Wealth Management Platform
Zero setup fee (although your adviser will charge you for the advice provided both initially and ongoing)
Ongoing platform fees are as follows:
| Fee per annum | Value |
| 0.03% | over £5m |
| 0.07% | £2m – £5m |
| 0.14% | £1m – £2m |
| 0.21% | £500k to £1m |
| 0.28% | £250k – £500k |
| 0.35% | under £250k |
Northern Trust custodian fee is built into the above
Fees are taken monthly in arrears of the current value
You can find a complete breakdown of all fees including dealing charges here.
Adviser Fees:
Both Novia Global and Morningstar Wealth Platform will allow your adviser to charge up to 5% initial fees and 1.5% ongoing. Typically adviser charges should however be in the range of 3-1% for initial fees and typically 1% for ongoing management.
Fund Range/Investment Choice:
Novia Global offers a range of funds (8000 +) which include; FTSE 100 listed shares, Discretionary Fund Managers (Model Portfolios) such as Brooks Macdonald, Mutual Funds such as Baillie Gifford, ETFs (passive funds) such as Vanguard, and structured products. They also have a large range of ESG funds.
Morningstar Wealth Platform holds an extensive range of funds which covers all of Novia Global’s options plus Nasdaq, CAC, DAX listed equities and a larger range of DFM’s. Funds are available in all major currencies with the greatest offering being in GBP, USD, and Euro.
Account Minimums:
There are no account minimums however as this is an adviser-only platform your adviser will have a minimum investment value they work with.
Products:
Novia Global offers a Global Investment Account (GIA) and International SIPP.
Morningstar Wealth Platform offers a General Investment Account, International SIPP, ISA’s and US-compliant investment accounts. The latter includes IRS-compliant managed portfolios for US taxpayers provided by specialist discretionary managers. Morningstar will produce a 1099 form and ensure the investment is not classified as a PFIC.
Client Accessibility:
Novia Global will accept clients located throughout the world excluding the US or anyone US-connected individual
Morningstar Wealth Platform provides access to any individual throughout the world including US-connected individuals.
Exit Penalties/Minimum Investment Period:
Both Novia and Morningstar are fee-based platforms that does not pay out any commissions. As such, there are no exit penalties when withdrawing your money. This includes your money invested in funds or exiting the platform itself.
Tax
For non-US connected individuals there is no formal literature on this other than to say the platform is tax efficient. From working with clients the general consensus is that in ‘most locations’ as long as the monies stay within the platform and are not withdrawn, there is no tax liability.
Upon withdrawing the funds ‘Capital Gains Tax’ (CGT) would be due in the country you reside in. For US-connected individuals tax is on growth as per US tax brackets. I must caveat the above by stating I am not a tax adviser and strongly recommend you take tax advice from a local, regulated tax expert.
Novia Global Vs Morningstar Wealth Platform
When comparing Novia Global Vs Morningstar Wealth Platform it is clear that both providers offer a great product.
Novia Global offers a fully digital platform that allows advisors to manage their clients’ investments efficiently and effectively. The platform is designed to provide advisors with the tools they need to make informed investment decisions, including access to research and analytics.
The Morningstar Wealth Platform integrates with a wide range of custodians and also offers access to Morningstar’s extensive investment research and analysis tools. Advisors can use the platform to build customized investment portfolios for their clients, based on their unique goals, risk tolerance, and investment preferences.
Novia Global offers a more basic range of services which will cater to 95% of clients. Whereas the Morningstar Wealth Platform offers a greater range of both products and fund options that are suitable for the more sophisticated investor. It also caters to US Connected individuals which Novia Global does not.
Overall, both platforms provide investors with a range of high-quality, diversified investment options that can help them achieve their long-term financial goals with the help of a financial adviser.
