Adviser assets on platforms soar in Q3

Platform assets grew nearly 19% in Q3 underlining the rapid growth of the sector in the run up to the RDR, according to research by The Platforum.

During the period, IFA platform assets under administration (AUA) rose from £71.4bn to £84.9bn.

Three quarters of advisers surveyed also say their practice has improved ‘dramatically' since they adopted platforms with only 3% saying they were ‘disappointed' with the outcome.

The figures also highlight the emergence of a "big three" - consisting of Skandia, Cofunds and FundsNetwork - dominating the market by some distance.

Topping the asset table is Skandia which has £30.9bn AUA; a 16.6% increase from Q2 2009.

In second spot is Cofunds, with £20.4bn AUA, marking a 24.4% rise during the period.

After FundsNetwork, in third place with £16.10bn AUA, comes Transact with £7.5bn, pointing to the development of a two-tier platform league.

But the research also points to the fact smaller platforms are showing the fastest growth. Novia, which launched in October 2008, saw its AUA increase by a huge 166.7% during the quarter, rising from £15m to £40m.

Ascentric, which has now passed the £1bn barrier, also showed strong growth during the quarter with AUA rising by 37.9%.

Standard Life had an impressive quarter, too, with AUA increasing by 30.4% to hit £3bn.

Interestingly, The Platforum research shows a substantial portion of IFAs see no need for multiple platforms, with 43% saying they plan to use only one in the future.

There was also a split on the use of stochastic modeling tools through platforms with 16% saying they are an important part of any platform but nearly half (45%) preferring to make asset allocation decisions themselves. A reasonably high 18% said they did not trust the tools and the inputs are ‘too complex and questionable'.

The Platforum will launch its quarterly guide on the IFA-focused platform market in February, 2010.