Advised platform outflows fell in the third quarter after two years of increases, data from the lang cat has revealed.
Outflows fell from £16.30 billion in the second quarter of 2024 to £16.19 billion in Q3, putting an end to eight quarters of consecutive rises.
However, gross sales across advised platforms rose 1.83% in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter, totalling £57.28 billion for the year to date. This is up nearly £10 billion on the same period in 2023.
The lang cat said that with gross sales up and outflows down net sales are £3.10 billion, an increase of 17% on the previous quarter.
The data showed that Quilter, Aviva and Transact topped the table for gross and net advised sales for the third consecutive quarter. Quilter’s gross sales are the highest quarterly sales figure on the lang cat’s records. The platform’s net sales figures are also the best on record and the highest quarterly total by any advised platform since the first quarter of 2021.
Rich Mayor, senior analyst at the lang cat, said: “The third quarter saw gross sales remaining at a high level and this year are close to the sorts of numbers we saw in 2021 which was record-breaking. We’re expecting this trend to continue into the last quarter. Last time out we suggested that outflows have probably just about hit their peak and this time they’re lower, albeit only just. But we’ve revised our thinking on where these might settle at a new ‘normal’ following the Budget.”
The Budget announcement that inherited, unspent pensions will be brought into the inheritance tax regime from April 2027 will have a gradual effect on new and existing business, Mayor said.
“While there is still a whole lot of detail to be ironed out we think this means there will be an extra incentive to consolidate existing pensions to help cut down work for beneficiaries. It is logical to think some pension assets will move into platform bonds as well as an increase in trust planning, possibly inside a bond too, and in annuity use if rates continue to be competitive,” he added.
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