The average number of platforms used by advisers has dropped to two with 71 per cent of new client flows directed to the advisers’ primary platform, according to research from Investment Trends.
That’s one of the key findings of the researcher’s 2025 Adviser Technology Needs Report which said this signals “high stakes” for providers to secure and retain their position.
The average number of platforms used by advisers has decreased from three platforms in 2022 and trended downwards each year.
Investment Trends research from 2022 found the use of multiple platforms had reached a 10-year record high average, but advisers have increased the proportion of new business directed to their secondary platform at the expense of their main platform.
The latest data showed this trend had changed with 71 per cent of new client inflows directed to the adviser’s primary platform – up from 65 per cent in 2022 – while technology spend has increased to $38,000 per practice.
Investment Trends director Cameron Spittle said advisers are no longer spreading flows across multiple platforms and are instead backing the ones that meet their expectations.
“This consolidation is deliberate and accelerating,” Spittle said.
“For providers, retaining primary status is no longer about brand, it’s about delivering real usability, functionality and value.”
Research from SuitabilityHub found reducing the number of platforms in use is a focus for advisers as the fewer platforms, the less cumbersome it is for a business to provide advice.
“Platforms are trying to standardise processes, cut down multiple steps down to one step where [it’s] possible [to] create templates that help them provide consistent service to clients in bulk,” SuitabilityHub founder and managing director Recep Peker said in March.
Adviser Ratings found platform satisfaction is at its highest level in seven years, ahead of the latest Financial Advice Landscape report.
“Advisers are happy with the investment that’s been made over the last three, four years in all platforms,” the firm’s managing director Angus Woods said.
The Investment Trends report also found one in four advisers (23 per cent) prefer a single, end-to-end solution, which was up from 18 per cent last year.
Nearly the same proportion (22 per cent) favour open architecture with seamless integration, but 36 per cent remain agnostic, and almost one in 10 (9 per cent) are unsure of their ideal setup.
The report found 61 per cent of advisers are using AI tools but with limited use cases and integration and there is further interest for advisers to have Ai integrated within their advice software.
