Gross flows jumped 29% to a new high of £164bn.

Net flows were £69bn, an increase of 92%, according to data shared by platform and fund research house Fundscape.

The platform industry broke new records in the final quarter of the year with gross flows of £46bn and net flows of £24bn.

A total of 62.4% of the funds under advice with platforms in 2021 were retail advised (£581.68bn).

Retail advised gross sales for the year were £83.25bn, 50.6% of total gross sales.

Retail advised net sales for the year were £40.34bn, 58.4% of total net sales.

Asset growth surpassed the previous record 18.2% growth recorded by Fundscape in 2019.

In comparison, 2020 saw an asset growth for platforms of 10.4% to £784.6bn.

Bella Caridade‐Ferreira, CEO at Fundscape, said the research house does not expect 2022 to match 2021’s sales figures.

She said “Despite the pandemic, 2020 had turned out to be a good year for retail wealth management, but 2021 was a fantastic one despite rampant inflation, and uncertain economic and political outlooks weighing on investor sentiment.

“Those factors could take their toll in 2022, but with inflation and interest rates starting to climb aggressively and retail banks showing no sign of passing on interest rate rises to savers, we expect investors to double-down on their investing efforts.

“The ISA season will set the tone for the rest of the year. While it’s unlikely to match 2021’s sales figures, it’s going to be a robust 2022.”

ISAs accounted for 24.2% of assets under administration for platforms in 2021.

Almost half (44.7%) of the assets under administration by platforms for the year were held in SIPPs and personal pensions.