UK adviser platform assets grew strongly in 2017, surpassing the half a trillion AUA mark. In percentage terms, growth outstripped the direct platform market, reinforcing the view that now is a good time to be an adviser (and an adviser platform).
Platform growth in the final quarter of 2017 was largely driven by pension flows. Pension transfers are playing a large role in new business but we are hearing that this isn’t necessarily just DB transfers – DC to DC transfers have also been important.
The benefits of scale in accumulating assets are clear. The largest five platforms have added the greatest amount of assets by value, even though several of the smaller platforms delivered some of the strongest percentage growth figures.
The top five platforms by AUA continue to command about two-thirds of the market and the top ten still hold nearly 90%. There weren’t any major changes in this overall picture in 2017 – the last time the market share picture was shaken up was at the end of 2016, when Aegon acquired Cofunds and Standard Life acquired Elevate.
One avenue platforms could consider to capture a greater share of assets would be to try to convert secondary users into primary users. The average adviser firm holds 40% more of clients’ assets on their primary platform than their secondary platform.
Next week, we will publish the latest market stats, adviser opinions on platforms, market themes and future outlook in the latest issue of Platforum’s UK Adviser Platform Guide – download a report outline here.