Advised platform net sales hit an all-time low in Q2 of 2023, the Lang Cat has found.
Net sales came in at £2.8bn ($3.8bn, €3.3bn) down 38% on Q1 and the lowest quarterly net sales total on the consultancy firm’s records.
Money coming onto platforms has continued to fall, as outflows rise to their highest quarterly level at £12.1bn with £0.80 leaving platforms for every £1 added between April and June.
Quilter is the largest UK advised platform with £69.46bn in assets under administration, with Abrdn in close second at £69.35bn. True Potential topped the advised net sales table at £851m.
Rich Mayor, senior analyst at the Lang Cat, said: “Gross sales onto platforms are being hit by the ongoing economic headwinds we continue to see in the UK, and net sales are being reduced to all-time lows as outflows are at all-time highs.
“The $64m question is where is this money going? Platforms we spoke with noted an increase in client withdrawals from products to meet the demands of the cost-of-living crisis. We’re also hearing that some investors are looking to pay down lump sums on mortgages as their fixed deals come to end.
“For those with unencumbered properties we’re hearing from some advisers that clients are looking to partial and term annuities to help mitigate the more immediate market headwinds.”
This comes a few weeks after Martin Barnett, head of content at Fundscape, said that the UK platform market set for consolidation and the door is “well and truly open for larger players to potentially acquire distressed platforms at knockdown prices”.
