The platform sector has recovered strongly this year with inflows reaching the highest levels since the DB transfer and Pension Freedoms booms of 2018, according to the platform consultancy lang cat.

Advised Assets Under Advice exceeded £500bn barrier for the first time during the first quarter of this year, ending at £514bn - up 4% on Q4 2020.

The lang cat says the figures suggest a bounce back since the “market dip” at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Total advised gross flows for Q1 were up 28% on Q4 2020 to reach £21.2bn.

Transact saw the highest advised channel net inflow in Q1 2021 at £1.47bn, followed by Aviva Platform at £1.45bn and Old Mutual Wealth at £1.02bn.

It is the first time since Q3 2018 that any platform has reported advised gross flows of over £2bn during a single quarter. In Q1 of this year there were four platforms which hit this milestone, something which last occurred in 2017. 

Advised net flows rose between 32% and 34% to finish the quarter at £9.4bn.  

Mark Polson, principal at the lang cat, said: “It wasn’t so long ago we were writing about advised AUA breaking the £400bn barrier and now, having pushed through the £500bn mark, there are no signs of things slowing. Of course, AUA is always helped by positive markets and this quarter was no different with the FTSE 100, FTSE all share and S&P 500 all up by around 4 to 5%.

“The increases seen over Q1 puts advised gross flows back up to where they were in Q1/Q2 2018 towards the end of the pension freedoms and DB transfer boom. It remains to be seen whether this momentum will continue or if the bumper tax year end was a result of investors holding back until the country starts to open up following a year of lockdowns.”

The top 5 providers for AUA, gross flow and net flow for Q1 2021 were:

 Source: the lang cat