14 May 2026 Robust platform flows in Q126 despite turmoil

The first quarter, and the run-up to tax year-end, usually sets the tone for the rest of the year. Although 2026 started well, it was blown off course in March by Trump’s war on Iran. Stock markets seesawed, with the FTSE All World and S&P 500 falling 3.5% and 5.4% over the quarter, leaving industry assets flat at £1.3trn. Nonetheless, gross flows jumped to £51.3bn (advised: £27.5bn), with net flows of £13.0bn (advised: £6.4bn). In fact, advised gross sales were the highest on record, up £4bn year on year, with net sales the highest since 2022, off the back of a robust January and February.

After pensions, onshore bonds replaced ISAs as the tax wrapper of choice, recording twice the net flows of ISAs (£954m v £502m) in response to Autumn Budget changes that brought pensions into scope for inheritance tax. Quilter captured half of all onshore bond flows also topped three of the quarter’s four leaderboards.

Between them, Quilter, Aviva and Transact captured 90% of the quarter’s advised net flows, while the top five platforms captured 108% of advised net flows. The market is fracturing and the leaders are pulling away from the rest.

Bella Caridade-Ferreira, CEO of Fundscape said: “Q1 was a strong quarter despite the impact of the Iran war. The underlying demand for advice and long-term investment remains intact. Budgetary changes have redirected a wedge of flows into bonds, and the trend will continue to grow as more platforms add bonds to their product ranges. For now, Quilter, Aviva and Transact are capitalising.

“Looking ahead to the second quarter, the ISA season will cushion the industry, and the advice pipeline looks comparatively healthy. But much depends on whether the geopolitical and domestic noise settles before the end of the quarter. If it does, Q226 could yet surprise on the upside. Anything beyond that is wishful thinking.”

– Ends-

Notes to Editors:

The Platform Report is a confidential report published by Fundscape.  To subscribe to the report, platforms must contribute asset and sales data on a quarterly basis. For further information about the report and Fundscape, visit www.fundscape.co.uk. A total of 18 platforms is included in the analysis. Platform coverage is estimated at 98% of the platform universe.

¹ Aegon and Hargreaves Lansdown are estimated this quarter.

Photo by Jens Rademacher on Unsplash