Mike Barrett, consulting director at the Lang Cat, said: "There is definitely a sense of glass half full/half empty when looking at the platform market at the moment.
"On one hand most providers have had a challenging year for new business flows, with the second half of 2019 being especially tough. The reduction of DB transfer monies, combined with market volatility and Brexit/Election nervousness means most platforms will be glad to see the back of 2019.
"As to what 2020 brings, it really comes down to how long you believe the market nervousness will continue.
"Advisers I speak with talk of 'pent up frustration' from clients, holding back investing until the markets are a bit calmer.
"This is obviously hard to predict, but if the markets can display a bit more stability 2020 could be a decent year for advisers and platforms."
david.thorpe@ft.com
