Gross advised platform sales were a record £22.1bn in the first quarter, according to new data.

Advised platform net sales climbed 21.28% to £5.44bn, the best net sales since Q2 2022.

Outflows fell by 3.57% to £16.65bn compared to the previous quarter, when they were £17.27bn.

The data from platform consultancy the Lang Cat also showed that advised platform quarterly assets fell slightly, down 0.64% to £643.48bn, due in part to market volatility caused by US President Trump’s tariffs.

But assets grew 7.1% compared to the first quarter of 2024, when they were £600.81bn.

Rich Mayor, senior analyst at the Lang Cat, said: “We saw last quarter that the spike in outflows was due to pre-Budget related activity and most platforms we spoke to experienced the same before settling down at end of 2024. That’s carried on into the first quarter of this year as outflows fell in a meaningful way for the first time since they started escalating.”

He said it’s been a “peculiar quarter” for platform numbers, where despite encouraging sales numbers, asset growth is down. He said: “The period of uncertainty surrounding ‘Liberation Day’ in March helped liberate platforms of any quarterly growth. As we’ve seen since, the market has been volatile, with significant changes on a regular basis.”

Mr Mayor said the Lang Cat has been speaking with advisers to see how they handled the volatility with their clients. He said the majority look to have been on the front foot with proactive communications. 

Talking about asset growth, he added: “For the past couple of years market movement has formed the bulk of annual platform asset growth. But the volatility we’ve seen recently could mean net sales become all the more important to platform asset growth this year."

Quilter topped both advised growth (£3.99bn) and net sales (£2.29bn) for the fourth consecutive quarter.