Advisers purchased £328.4m in 2013, up from £196.6m bought in the previous year.
The record high was reached in the fourth quarter last year, when advisers bought £86m, up 70% from the same quarter 2012, when purchases hit £50.6m.
Data was obtained from six platforms, which included Transact, Nucleus, Ascentric, Raymond James Investment Services, Elevate and Novia.
“One year on it’s clear that investment companies have significantly benefitted from the RDR. It’s excellent news that investment company adviser platform purchases have increased dramatically, albeit from a low level,” director general Ian Sayers, noted.
Total purchases of all products through adviser platforms during 2013 were up 46% at £70.7bn, compared to £48.6bn in 2012.
Demand “low” for big players
Statistics aside, it is important to bear in mind that the three biggest platforms with the most traffic – Cofunds, Skandia, and FundsNetwork – still have fairly little investment trust business. For example, Skandia does not offer any investment trusts.
According to the company, demand for investment trusts is still relatively low in comparison to other vehicles. Its latest platform report confirms that in Q4 last year just 0.49% of sales across the platform market went into investment trusts, whereas over 90% went into funds.
“Right now our focus is on offering the best range of fund based solutions such as WealthSelect, which launched in February,” a spokesperson said.
