Assets in discretionary model or managed portfolio services (MPS) experienced strong growth in the six months to the end of Q1 2024. Asset growth was aided by favourable market conditions and a continued shift in assets toward discretionary MPS driven by the Consumer Duty and continued price pressure. M&A activity has also continued in the financial advice sector presenting both opportunities and difficulties alike for providers of discretionary MPS.
Multi-asset funds are the investment solution most used by financial advisers. They are used alongside model portfolios, as components within model portfolios and as a standalone product. In our survey for this report, we found that three quarters of financial advice professionals use multi-manager or multi-asset funds with 28% expecting to increase their allocation of client assets to these products in the next three years. In May 2023, the Investment Association reported that 17% of UK retail funds were invested in mixed asset funds.
This report marks version one of the AI Index. NextWealth will update this report at least annually, tracking adoption and readiness to adopt AI in wealth management and financial advice businesses. The report will also include case studies and insights from tech providers (investment platforms, back office systems and other advice tech providers) who will enable adoption of AI in our sector.
On the 19th of March 2024, we hosted our annual conference, NextWealth Live. This conference report highlights the major themes, speakersā€™ views and areas of debate from the event.
To help firms adapt, innovate and thrive amid this disruption, NextWealth is publishing a second edition of it's Consolidators and Aggregators Report covering trends in financial advice firm acquisitions and will include profiles of 15-20 acquiring firms.
NextWealthā€™s The Next Platform Shakeout report forms part of our Adviser Tech Stack series. This report marks our third dedicated to the theme of financial advice firms becoming platform operators.
