David Ferguson: Five key trends facing the UK platform market in 2019

Who pays for platforms?

After an eventful 2018, the coming year will no doubt see the advised platform sector continue to evolve, writes David Ferguson, as he picks out five areas that look central to the market's future.

Last year proved another eventful period for the advised platform market, with not one but four IPOs, including our own. We have also seen significant growth in assets for most businesses, to the point where Hargreaves Lansdown's market capitalisation now outweighs that of Standard Life by £2bn. Alongside this, there has been the much-needed and ongoing investment in technology from those who are committed to the sector. One thing was abundantly clear throughout and that was the ever-increasing importance of platforms to the adviser market in the UK. The journey to becoming one of the mo...