Our latest UK Adviser Platform Guide – Market Update reveals the adviser platform market grew at 6.3% over the second quarter of 2018 to stand at just over £500bn. Market conditions improved in the quarter and platforms have returned to growth, following a small fall in total AUA in Q1 2018.
Total flows onto platforms remain strong, especially into pensions. However, flows are down compared with the same quarter last year. 2017 was a record year for inflows for many platforms and DB transfers were the icing on the cake.
Recently, we have heard that fewer DB transfer cases are being written on platform and this has contributed to lower pension sales figures. However, total flows are up on the corresponding quarter of 2016, suggesting that 2017 may just have been something of an anomaly.
Turning our eye onto financial advisers and what they look for in a platform, charges remain the top overall consideration factor. But unsurprisingly, given all the column inches dedicated to certain platforms’ struggles, service is most commonly cited as the number one platform selection criteria.
Platforms might want to treat this as a wake-up call and take a closer look at their customer service and adviser support to ensure that as and when things do go wrong, the necessary framework is in place to cope in the aftermath.
We have just published the underlying adviser platform market data for Q2 2018 – clients can now download this on our portal.
The full UK Adviser Platform Guide report will be available in September where we will look at market stats, adviser opinions on platforms, platform functionality and more – download a report outline here.