Aegon ready to unveil its wraps

Aegon is to enter the "wrap" market later this year in a move described as saving the firm from becoming "obsolete".

The Edinburgh-based life and pensions group is to develop two platforms, one aimed at the workplace savings market and the other for "at-retirement" investment and pension products. The latter will be rolled out later this year, with the workplace offering following in early 2012. Wrap platforms allow advisers to view all of their clients' investments online in one account.

Iain Wishart of Wishart Wealth Management said: "Without this deal Aegon would have been at risk of becoming largely obsolete as a place to hold investment money."