Advised platform assets under management grew by 9.24% in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year.
It marked the highest quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2020, despite a modest drop in flows, according to the lang cat.
The lang cat said the growth reflects the positive market movement in the second quarter, following the conflict in Iran and the Middle East which resulted in no growth in the first three months of the year.
New business flows were down to £25.88 billion on a record-breaking first quarter of 2026 but still represented the second-best quarter for gross sales on record, boosted by stronger ISA sales.
Outflows across the advised platform market remained flat on the previous quarter at £18.53 billion, after a sharp reduction in the first quarter.
Rich Mayor, senior analyst at the lang cat, said: “The numbers so far in 2026 reflect the first half of 2025. We had no growth in the first quarter due to turmoil around the introduction of tariffs in the US, good growth in the second as markets settled, and a reduction in outflows from the preceding Budget.
“Under the bonnet, the advised sector continues to have strong new business numbers, with this quarter the second-best on our books. This quarter in particular we’re seeing really good ISA sales and it feels logical that there’s some reinvestment from the spike in Budget pension withdrawals washing through as new tax year subscriptions become available.”
Mayor said that pensions command the lion’s share of flows from a net sales perspective, with the rest evenly split between ISAs, GIAs and bonds.
“That’s a more recent trend and a new shape of net sales for platforms that operate nearly entirely in the advised market in terms of AUM, as planning for inheritance tax on unspent pensions sharpens on the horizon. This means some fundamental changes to retirement planning for more clients and we’re seeing that play out meaningfully in platform flows now.”
David Moffat, executive chair of The Platforms Association, added: “Investment platforms continue to provide the route of choice for both advised and direct investors in the UK.
“Continuing the theme in Q1, the Q2 figures show advisers and clients defying both political and taxation uncertainty at home and geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East to commit over £7 billion of new investment monies across both pension and ISA wrappers.”
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