The UK discretionary MPS market continues to grow, increasing year-on-year at a faster rate than the UK platform market within which it sits. There are signs of a slow down of cost reductions as well as pressure on hybrid models coming from passives.

The majority of MPS providers focus on strategic partnerships to embed and grow their market share, with 74% now offering tailored models.

Factors which may have an impact on these trends could come from regulatory scrutiny and change, operational enhancements and adjacent industry developments such as continued advice business consolidation.

Why this research matters

When we first launched this report, our aim had been for it to be your source of truth and by extension for NextWealth to be your most trusted partner for the analysis of the market. Seven years on and twelve editions later, our aims remain the same.

The gift of producing these reports for such an extended period is the deep data-set which allows us to better identify trends and behaviours. When this is combined with the wider specialism of NextWealth’s capabilities such as business model changes or technology usage, it means we can apply a higher level of context to spot the reasons behind and the contagion impact of those trends.

Who this research is for

• DFMs to benchmark their proposition against the competition, including pricing, platform availability, assets and asset growth.
• Asset managers to identify the fastest growing DFMs, to fine-tune distribution efforts, to better understand the ambition of their DFM partners.
• Platforms to prioritise DFMs to add to the platform, develop functionality to support DFMs in managing money on behalf of advised clients on platform, and better understand emerging platform DFM propositions.
• Financial advice businesses to understand the proposition and differentiators of their DFM partners and to benchmark their own outsourced investment proposition.
• Private equity firms and consolidators to identify takeover targets and the competitive environment in this rapidly changing market.

Methodology

The data in this report is collected through NextWealth surveys of financial advisers and employees of financial advice businesses and data provided by 59 DFMs (data is accurate as of 31st March 2026).

Authors

Graham Dow, Senior Adviser – Investment Solutions & Mark Aldous, Senior Quantitative Researcher

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Interested in seeing more of our MPS Proposition work – check out the full series here.

Suggested citation

NextWealth 2026, MPS Asset Update June 2026

FAQs

1. What is the size of the UK discretionary MPS market?

The UK discretionary Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) market reached £208 billion in assets under management as of March 2026, continuing to grow faster than the wider UK platform market. MPS has become a key investment solution for financial advisers seeking scalable and outsourced investment management.

2. What are the main trends shaping the UK MPS market in 2026?

Key trends include strong market growth, increasing adoption of tailored MPS solutions, and growing demand for strategic partnerships between discretionary fund managers (DFMs), platforms, and advice firms.

3. How are MPS fees changing?

Asset-weighted MPS fees have fallen to 49 basis points (bps), largely due to the growth of lower-cost passive and hybrid investment models. However, the pace of fee reductions appears to be slowing as providers balance competitive pricing with service and proposition development.

4. Who should read a UK MPS market report?

This research is valuable for discretionary fund managers (DFMs), financial advisers, asset managers, investment platforms, consolidators, and private equity firms. It provides benchmarking data, market share insights, pricing analysis, growth trends, and competitive intelligence to support strategic decision-making.