Platform AUM slumps by over £52bn in H1

Total platform assets under management (AUM) slumped by £52.2bn to £838.4bn in the second quarter, down 5.9% on the previous quarter. Platform assets overall are down more than £90bn since Q4 2021. According to asset management consultancy Fundscape, which compiled platform figures for the first half, the quarterly drop of 5.9% almost matches the 6% drop in the FTSE All Share. Fundscape said after recovering from the pandemic the platform sector had been hit by “a sense of despair” due to the worst economic and geopolitical challenges “in a generation.” Gross sales for the platform sector in Q2 were £31.1bn, down £4.6bn on Q1 and £13.9bn lower than Q4 2021. Net sales crashed to nearly a third of the level seen in Q4 2021. Fundscape said with the FTSE All Share down by 6%, it was unsurprising that platform assets shrank by a similar amount. Flows paint a bleaker picture and investor confidence has plummeted, it said, with gross and net flows falling to their lowest point since the Q3 2020 lockdown period, exacerbated by a big drop in ISA flows. D2C platforms were most affected by the change in sentiment and fall in ISA sales, but Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell still topped the all-channel net sales table for both the quarter and the year to date. Adviser platforms tended to fare better than D2C platforms, Fundscape found, with two vertically integrated platforms standing out from the crowd — Quilter and True Potential. Among advised platforms, Transact returned to pole position in the second quarter for gross sales and led for year to date. Quilter and True Potential also stood out from the crowd with their vertically integrated models providing some strength in difficult market conditions. True Potential, Aviva, Transact, AJ Bell and Fidelity topped the H1 net sales table. Across all channels, Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell topped the all-channel net sales table for both the quarter and the year to date. Bella Caridade-Ferreira, CEO of Fundscape said, “The economic outlook is shaky at best, with little prospect of improvement in the short to medium term. With rampant inflation and fuel prices at unsustainable levels, investor confidence and disposable income will shrink to fresh lows. “Investors and platforms will have to learn to live with the new normal. For platforms, the downturn comes just as they face another huge regulatory hurdle in the shape of Consumer Duty. “The platforms that survive will be adept at adapting to disruption and diversifying into multi-channel businesses. Consumers will need significant support over the next few years and will expect their finances to be both digital and seamless across a range of products and services." The Full Report is available from Fundscape. • Editor's Note 10.55 am/11.08.22: due to incorrect supply of some data the tables published earlier had a number of errors, mostly relating to Transact's figures. The tables have now been corrected. The changes apply mainly to the tables and references to Transact. The headline remains the same and most key points. We apologise for any confusion.

Platform AUM slumps by over £52bn in H1

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