UK platforms’ advised inflows were down 21 per cent in the third quarter of 2021, following record inflows earlier this year.
The UK’s total advised gross flows were also down 14 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q3, according to The Lang Cat’s latest quarterly Platform Market Scorecard, published today (November 11).
But year-on-year, advised flows have still increased by almost 75 per cent.
The Lang Cat’s consulting director, Steven Nelson, said the development “shouldn’t be immediate cause for concern”.
He put the quarterly dip down to “a combination of seasonality and no doubt some of the latent fallout of record flows towards the beginning of this year”.
He continued: “Year-on-year flows are a better barometer for the strength of the sector and performance here has been particularly robust, which is no mean feat considering the backdrop of ongoing Covid-19 uncertainty. This is indeed a healthy sector.”
Four platforms have reported total net new business of at least £1bn, and “a handful” of firms are “not that far behind” this figure, floating “around the £800m mark” according to the financial services consultancy.
Platform providers which topped the list in terms of gross inflows for Q3 were Abrdn’s SL Wrap/Elevate (£2.23bn), Quilter (£2.22bn), Transact (£1.97bn), Aviva Platform (£1.92bn), and AJ Bell Investcentre (£1.7bn).
Providers which topped the list net of outflows were True Potential (£1.33bn), Aviva Platform (£1.33bn), Transact (£1.31bn), AJ Bell Investcentre (£1bn) and Quilter (£880m)
UK firms’ advised assets under administration (AUA) sat at £562bn at the end of September, an increase of 2.99 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile the total market’s AUA ended “agonisingly close” to the £700bn mark in Q3, according to The Lang Cat.
These figures point to year-on-year growth of 22.69 per cent for advised channel AUA, and 21.91 per cent for the total market.
Platform providers which topped the list in terms of advised AUA as of Q3 were Abrdn’s SL Wrap/Elevate (£73.86bn), Quilter (£70.97bn), Transact (£52.11bn), FundsNetwork (£47.21bn), and AJ Bell Investcentre (£45.80bn).
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
