For the first time in two years assets in advised platforms grew in the final quarter of 2023, new data shows.
Analysis from The Lang Cat showed there was overall growth of around £30bn in advised platforms, which it said was driven by market optimism as inflation dropped.
However, negative net sales still plagued platforms, falling to the lowest total of £1.17bn.
Of 21 advised platforms, 11 recorded negative net sales, representing £279.77bn of advised assets or 49 per of total advised platform AUM.
In the quarter, outflows were £14.89bn, up from £13.93bn in Q3.
There were total outflows of £53.5bn for 2023, up over a third on 2022 (£39.01bn).
Rich Mayor, senior analyst at the lang cat, said: “The growth we’ve seen in platform assets provides some welcome respite for platforms following a couple of years of tumult, but the path ahead is still fraught with headwinds.
“We’re not expecting outflows to slow dramatically over the coming months, even with inflation falling to its lowest levels for some time, and interest rates possibly following suit”
True Potential, which has been top three for the past 12 quarters, topped the advised net sales table with £0.77bn.
Quilter extended its lead over Abrdn as the largest advised platform by around £3bn to total £73.85bn in advised AUM.
Quilter brought in the most gross sales and is the only platform to have crossed the £2bn quarterly sales milestone since Q1 2022.
Mayor added: "We’ve more uncertainty ahead in the form general elections and increased regulator activity.
"We expect to see growth in AUM in 2024 to be mostly dictated by markets and for net sales to remain at a lower level."
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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