Another quarter has come and gone and with it comes the latest wave of adviser platform data.
Adviser platforms have grown at 5.4% over Q3 2018 as the overall market steadily approaches the £550bn mark. Equity markets remained largely flat in the quarter – the FTSE All-Share declined by 0.7% – so growth can largely be attributed to new money flowing onto platform, be it via transfer of off-platform books or otherwise. More than half of the growth came from Aegon adding £16bn of DC assets from BlackRock.
Almost all platforms have seen an overall reduction in net sales figures this quarter. Whilst pension flows continue to be the dominant driver, these have regressed back to the levels we were witnessing before the DB transfer bug swept the market in 2017.
Elsewhere, we have taken another look at adviser behaviour surrounding the platforms they are using and how key decisions are made. One interesting titbit is the rise of advisers classing a platform’s financial stability as the number one factor they require of their ‘perfect platform’. We typically see temporary spikes in this when platform consolidation stories break – Interactive Investor announced its acquisition of Alliance Trust Savings on the eve of our survey.
One stat to ponder from platforms and advisers alike is the fact that advisers’ overall satisfaction with their primary platform remains flat year-on-year at 80%… despite recent technology upgrade issues.
We have now published our Q3 2018 adviser platform market update as well as the 2018 UK Adviser Platforms: Pricing report. Get in touch with jeanluc.dejonge@platforum.co.uk for more details.