The 2024 ISA season was a ‘damp squib’ with several platforms recording net ISA outflows, according to a new report from consultancy Fundscape.

The consultancy blamed the cost-of-living crisis and the ‘siren call of cash’ continuing to affect customers for the poor ISA season.

Pension business on platforms surged, however, in the first quarter and recorded its best gross and net flows in two years.

Adviser platforms saw a quarterly asset growth of 11.6% (in comparison to 9.4% for all platforms) ending the quarter with assets of £658.3bn.

Overall gross flows were £38bn.

Although net flows rose to £7bn, they failed to match the volumes of the previous quarters.

In the adviser platform channel Quilter, Aviva and Transact recorded the highest gross and net flows for the quarter. Quilter’s net flows were its second-best figure since Q121, when the platform industry was on a post-pandemic high.

Top 5 platforms (adviser channel) by net sales

 Source: Fundscape, The Platform Report Q1 2024

Thanks to a combination of advised and D2C propositions, Aegon topped the overall platform table for gross sales and AJ Bell led for net flows.

Bella Caridade-Ferreira, CEO of Fundscape, said: “Is this the light of the end of the tunnel for platforms? Yes and no. Stock markets boosted assets and revenues, but flows are still well below par. We’re in a period of change —hopefully, we’ll see stronger flows in the second quarter and beyond. The Bank of England has signalled that interest rates will drop in the summer, which will help to level the playing field between cash and investments.”

This was the first quarter for which Nucleus added its Curtis Banks data to its Fundscape statistics. The added £41bn of assets took the platform to the fourth largest in the market with assets at the end of Q1 2024 of £89bn.