Aviva has claimed that its adviser platform is now number one in the UK for net flows despite a 5% drop in platform net flows overall.

In its Q1 trading update today, the company said that platform net flows overall had fallen from £1.531bn in Q1 2021 to £1.45bn in Q1 2022.

The drop mirrors similar falls this year at rival platforms which have been hit by market turbulence.

Aviva said that while its platform net flows had also been hit by market volatility and switching, performance “remains strong” and its adviser platform was now, “the number one in the market for net flows.”

Aviva also said in its statement that its acquisition of Financial Planning and wealth management firm Succession Wealth for £385m, announced in March, remains on track to complete in the second half of 2022. 

Aviva's trading showed a mixed picture across the business.

On the wealth side net flows dropped from £2.9bn to £2.7bn and UK and Ireland Life sales were up only 2% to £8.4bn. 

Despite this the company said that many parts of the business had performed well, customer numbers were up and sales held up well. General insurance did well and bulk purchase annuities volumes had showed “good returns.”

Amanda Blanc, group CEO, said the first quarter’s trading had been positive and showed the benefit of Aviva’s mix of business across insurance, wealth and retirement.

She said: “We delivered healthy sales numbers across all our major business lines, with UK customer numbers up by over 100,000 in the last year to 15.4m, increasing our confidence that we can transform Aviva’s performance and grow.

“UK & Ireland Life sales are up 2%, and net flows into our Wealth business remained strong at £2.7 billion, despite market volatility. Our Advisor (sic) platform is now the number one in the market for net flows, and in Annuities and Equity Release we saw increased bulk purchase annuities volumes, written with good returns.

“We have also continued our momentum in General Insurance where we had our best first quarter sales in a decade, as more people were attracted to the strength of the Aviva brand and the quality of our products. Total General Insurance sales were up 5% to over £2 billion, driven by strong sales in commercial lines in both the UK and Canada.

“We remain very well positioned to benefit from the long term growth trends in our markets, and to meet our upgraded financial targets. This is underpinned by our strong capital position which benefits from rising interest rates. Our financial strength and market leadership give us confidence that we can successfully navigate the current uncertain economic conditions.”