25 May Direct Matters Q121 press release

Fundscape published the third issue of its quarterly Direct Matters report today. The Direct Matters report covers all aspects of direct business in the UK including D2C platforms and robos, and will also start gathering information on investment and trading apps too.

Assets at the end of Q121 totalled £244.7bn, up £13.3bn or 5.7% against the previous quarter. Direct platforms accounted for the lion’s share of assets (£236bn), but assets managed by robos and ODIMs (online discretionary investment managers) grew much faster, rising by a chunky 16% to £8.5bn since December 2020.

Leading players

Hargreaves Lansdown continues to reign supreme as the largest platform in the UK, but Interactive Investor’s acquisitive nature has seen it storm up the charts into second place. What was once the country’s second largest provider, Barclays, is now in fifth place. However, the platform has recovered lost ground and its latest enhancements have been popular with clients.

Notes: Interactive Investor AUA is estimated.

Bella Caridade-Ferreira, CEO of Fundscape said, ‘Assets managed by direct providers rose to £245bn in the first quarter, a rise of £13bn or 6%. The ISA season helped, with many of the large direct players reporting record-breaking quarters and sales surging to new heights – Hargreaves, AJ Bell, Fidelity, Nutmeg and Barclays Smart Investor.’

‘If you thought records tumbling all around for sales and asset growth was exciting enough, it barely scratches the surface. Q1 has seen multiple investments in client experience, a spike in younger, novice investors, new industry entrants and firms extending their client offerings, not to mention potential M&A.’

About

The Direct Matters report gathers data directly from direct providers and incorporates trends from the Comparetheplatform.com site.

For further information on a subscription, please contact sales @ fundscape.co.uk.

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