The UK adviser platform market seems to be on the road to recovery after a difficult couple of years, but some bumps still lie ahead, according to our most recent UK Adviser Platforms: Spring Update report.
Indicators of improvement include total platform AUA growing quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. Most platforms have recorded positive net flows in Q1, compared with just half of them in Q4 2023. We are also seeing some people moving back into investments as interest rates look set to fall, making cash slightly less attractive.
Yet with a closer look, the picture seems less encouraging. Gross and net flows are generally turning upwards, but a significant gap remains because outflows have stayed elevated across all tax wrappers.
Flows often peak in Q1, as investors put extra money into ISAs and pensions before the tax year end. This year, we have seen notable spikes in flows into each type of wrapper, suggesting that people who can afford to accumulate are continuing to do so. We’ll get a better idea of how adviser platform market conditions are improving at the end of Q2 and whether the solid start to the year will be sustained.
Platforum recently published UK Adviser Platforms: Spring Update, our annual update of the adviser platforms market over Q1. This includes Q1 2024 platform data as well as an update on our quarterly Platforum User Leaderboard. For more information, please get in touch.