Pressure ramping up for platforms amid adviser consolidation

The pressure is on for technology providers as Investment Trends’ latest industry report reveals advisers are consolidating platform use, directing the majority of funds to one primary platform.

The 2025 Adviser Technology Needs Report found advisers are using an average of just 2.0 platforms, down from 3.0 in 2022, highlighting a steady decline over this period.

Advisers are also funnelling a greater share of new business into a single provider, with some 71 per cent of new client inflows now being directed to advisers’ primary platform in 2025, up from 65 per cent in 2022.

According to Investment Trends, this is a reflection of advisers’ focus on “simplicity, efficiency and deep integration”.

Investment Trends director Cameron Spittle said: “Advisers are no longer spreading flows across multiple platforms. They’re backing the ones that meet their expectations and can facilitate their preferred investment philosophy.

“This consolidation is deliberate and accelerating. For providers, retaining primary status is no longer about brand, it’s about delivering real usability, functionality and value.”

Research from Adviser Ratings in June showed a similar decrease in the number of platforms advisers are using, dropping from an average of 2.31 in 2023 to 2.01 in 2025, due in part to advisers dividing their platform usage into two camps: core and peripheral.

A core platform, in this situation, are those that are “integral to advice practice operations” while peripheral platforms refer to those used only for legacy products or niche purposes.

“To be designated as peripheral means to face an existential threat, as these platforms are most likely to be eliminated in the next efficiency drive,” it said.

The trend highlights the increasing importance for platform providers to secure advisers’ favour as a primary tool as they become increasingly less likely to use multiple platforms.

However, understanding what advisers’ actually want from platforms is still something of a challenge.

Notably, Investment Trends found advisers are divided on technology architecture preferences with around one in four (23 per cent) now preferring a single end-to-end solution, up from 18 per cent in 2024.

On the other hand, some 22 per cent of advisers favour open architecture with seamless integration. Meanwhile, a third (36 per cent) are agnostic and a further 9 per cent say they are unsure of their ideal set-up.

Spittle said: “Technology spend has climbed to $38,000 per practice and it is more important than ever for platforms to be able to integrate seamlessly. Regardless of whether advisers prefer a fully integrated solution or best-of-breed technology stack.”