The lang cat’s State of the Platform Nation report is our annual deep dive into platforms in the UK.
The 14th year – 14! – of this publication means it’s now locked in its bedroom, communicating only by grunts.
It also means it’s spanned the RDR, several replatformings, the rise and rise of MPS, vertical integrations, rising interest and annuity rates, record outflows, Taylor Swift’s engagement and the launch of both Consumer Duty (the regulation) and Consumer Duty (the band). We’ve been there through it all.
So what do we know about 2025 for platforms?
Well, it was another year of record-breaking sales and good growth in AUM across all channels. It was also another record-breaking year for money taken away from platforms, with rumour and speculation surrounding the Autumn Budget the biggest driver of outflows.
In terms of platform development it wasn’t a year of big-ticket, new, shiny stuff, but smaller, regular and incremental developments targeted at specific points of friction.
We saw several strategic integrations between platforms and other advice software throughout the year; something that’s long overdue.
Platforms also continued to venture into traditionally off-platform realms.
A steady conveyor belt of smoothed managed funds, onshore and offshore bonds and guaranteed products evolved and were repurposed for the new investment and tax challenges facing the advice profession.
That same profession told us of an explosion of more complex tax planning needs, inheritance tax mitigation and protection.
In State of the Platform Nation (SOTPN) we look at how that varies from platform to platform and what planners want to see from the sector to help them. It may come as no surprise that the reported work per client has ramped up considerably.
There’s life outside Advised World, though, and in the D2C channel we saw flows to match the very strongest advised platforms, and new customers in the six-figure range for the year. We take a look at the runners and riders, and highlight an interesting potential theme about why some advisers are losing clients to D2C.
What else? Well, we draw on quantitative research with our advice panel, due diligence trend data from Analyser, insights from the lang cat’s regulatory affairs team plus the data provided by platforms.
You won’t be short of new, usable information throughout this year’s SOTPN.
SOTPN is available for free for subscribers to Analyser’s Everything plan.
If we did sell it to advisers as a standalone report, we’d charge £300+ VAT. That’s just shy of the cost of an annual Everything subscription to Analyser.
Sound like a good deal?
Get started with Analyser now and get the latest SOTPN included. Or book in for a conversation with the team at a time that suits you.
