Only True Potential, Novia, Morningstar Wealth, and Hubwise grew their assets under administration last year, and the tough times are set to continue for platforms, according to Fundscape CEO Bella Caridade-Ferreira.
As investor sentiment took a battering in 2022, so did platform assets, according to the research house. Both Aegon and Hargreaves Lansdown saw a decline in assets of over 12% across the 12 months, with James Hay, Abrdn, R James, Parmenion, and M&G Wealth also suffering asset losses of over 10%.
Caridade-Ferreira expects the bad news to continue, adding that this year’s Isa season would be “lacklustre” as high inflation, interest rates, and taxes squeeze investors’ disposable income.
As a result, she argued that 2023, and potentially the first half of 2024, will be difficult for platforms. However, she added: “The market is underpinned by strong structural drivers, so the longer-term picture is healthy. We expect a 12-18-month time-lag as savers and investors adjust to a new normal.”
The top five platforms for gross sales in Q4 2022 exactly mirrored the full year’s top performers, and Fundscape’s report noted that it was the larger, multi-channel platform business that dominated this category.
The Aegon and Fidelity platforms, which support adviser, workplace, and D2C propositions, wrote the most business in the final quarter of 2022, and the year as a whole.
Top five platforms (all channels) by gross sales
| Platform | Q4 2022 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Aegon | £6.7bn | £29.5bn |
| Fidelity | £3.2bn | £17.0bn |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | £2.6bn | £13.0bn |
| AJ Bell | £1.9bn | £9.3bn |
| Quilter | £1.6bn | £7.5bn |
Despite high gross inflows, Aegon did not feature in the top five platforms for net sales in 2022, a list that was topped by AJ Bell, which received £5.2bn of net new client money.
True Potential featured second in net sales for 2022, with £5.1bn, and first among its peers in Q4. The platform managed a 12.4% growth in assets during the year, which Rich Mayor, senior analyst at financial services consultancy the Lang Cat, largely attributed to the firm’s successful acquisitions and subsequent integrations.
Adviser channels
In a separate piece of research by the Lang Cat, only four of the 21 platforms it monitors ended 2022 with more assets under administration than they began the year. They were True Potential, Morningstar Wealth Platform, Hubwise, and Multrees, the latter of which Fundscape does not include in its data.
Quilter secured the most gross sales in this area across the 12 months, and attracted £1.6bn off net sales in the fourth quarter of 2022, the most among its peers.
Top five adviser platforms by gross sales, 2022
| Quilter | £7.5bn |
| Transact | £6.8bn |
| Aviva | £6.7bn |
| Abrdn | £6.6bn |
| True Potential | £6.3bn |
True Potential took fifth spot for gross sales, but topped the table for net adviser platform sales in across the year, following a similarly dominant Q4 performance. Once again, it was the only platform to break £1bn in net sales during the three-month period, with Fundscape’s report adding that this was reflective of the difficult market conditions.
Top five adviser platforms by net sales, 2022
| True Potential | £4.9bn |
| Aviva | £3.9bn |
| Transact | £3.8bn |
| AJ Bell | £3.2bn |
| Fidelity | £2.3bn |
See also: D2C platforms pick up after tough year
