Net inflows at adviser platforms rose 12% to £5.06bn in Q3 despite outflows rising to new highs of £17.94bn, according to new data.

The Langcat research and PR consultancy attributed the spike in outflows, after two quarters of falls, to a combination of Budget rumours and the impact of planning for upcoming inheritance tax changes to pensions.

Gross sales rose by 6% to a record £23bn, beating the previous record from Q1 2025.

Assets under administration for adviser platforms also rose 6% in the third quarter to pass £711bn, a 14% increase year-on-year. The Langcat attributed the majority of this increase to market movement of existing assets.

Rich Mayor, senior analyst at the Langcat, said: “Q3 2025 continues the theme of strong sales we’ve seen throughout 2025, and it seems we’re destined for a record-breaking year for gross sales unless something dramatically changes in the final quarter. Four out of the five best quarters for gross sales have been the past four quarters, with Q3 2025 topping the lot. 

“Until the third quarter all the metrics were pointing in the right direction, but a spike in outflows has hit net sales this time around. Platforms have been telling us there’s an increase in pre-Budget activity.”

It's been some investors, rattled by Budget speculation, have been moving their money out of investments.

A separate report from Fundscape fund that assets on direct to consumer platforms rose 17% (year on year) to hit an all-time high of £478bn in the third quarter, with net flows accounting for around 20% of total asset growth.

Sales cooled with gross inflows of £19.6bn and net inflows of £7.1bn.

Interactive Investor topped the direct platform net sales table for the quarter with flows of £3.1bn. AJ Bell and Vanguard were in second and third place with £1.4bn and £1.3bn respectively. 

Gemma Maher, head of market insights at Fundscape, said: “Business levels softened in Q3 as we expected, without the boost of the ISA season. However, resilient investors and a positive stock market helped to push assets to record levels.
 
“Looking forward, all eyes are focused on Rachel Reeves and her anticipated delivery of tax rises in the November budget. Therefore, we expect flows to soften as we near the end of the year. How long this goes on for depends on how painful the budget is. The industry is hoping – and planning – that she doesn’t give everyone the January blues by dealing customer sentiment a body blow.”