The number of adviser gilt purchases through AJ Bell Investventre’s gilt dealing service increased by 436% in 2024.

The platform also saw a 31% increase in gilt purchases from advisers in January, compared with December 2024.

Gilt yields have risen to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crash in recent weeks as investors reacted to renewed inflationary pressures ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and policies announced in Rachel Reeves’ October Budget.

AJ Bell Investcentre launched an online gilt dealing tool in February 2024 to meet growing adviser demand to buy gilts for clients.

The number of advice firms using the gilt service increased by 83% in 2024, with a 223% increase in the number of advised customer accounts using the service to buy gilts over the year.

Mark Rendle, product director at AJ Bell Investcentre, said: “The continuing trend among advisers towards investing in government bonds showed no sign of abating in 2024, with a significant uptick in adviser gilt dealing across the platform and notably via our online gilt dealing service.

“Advisers are clearly adapting to meet the needs of clients in the current economic backdrop, with government borrowing up significantly by recent historic standards ever since the Truss-Kwarteng mini-Budget in the autumn of 2022, and increasing again at the start of this year amid renewed concerns around inflation.”

CPI inflation fell unexpectedly in December to 2.5% from 2.6% in November after two months of rises, providing some relief for Chancellor Rachel Reeves. However, the relief is expected to be temporary.

The next inflation data is expected to be released by the Office for National Statistics on 19 February.