Discretionary MPS assets rise by a third in 2025/26

Discretionary model portfolio service (MPS) assets increased by 32 per cent in the 12 months to the end of Q1 2026, breaking through the £200bn barrier to reach £208bn, analysis from NextWealth has revealed.

Its 2026 MPS Asset Update report found that assets rose by £50bn over the 12 months, with £18bn added in the latter six months despite financial markets being broadly flat during this time.

NextWealth noted that the discretionary MPS market had grown at a quicker pace (9 per cent) than the wider platform market (3 per cent) over the past six months.

Quilter WealthSelect continued to dominate discretionary MPS net asset growth, with its assets rising by 34 per cent over the 12 months to £26.1bn at the end of Q1.

Tatton remained the second largest MPS in terms of total assets (£21bn), and still made the top 10 net asset growth list despite de-linking £3.7bn of Perspective Group assets.

The report analysed the relationship between total cost and asset growth, and highlighted that firms with an average total cost below 50bps saw their assets rise by an average of 30 per cent over the 12 months.

Meanwhile, firms that were charging more than 50bps grew their assets by an average of 20 per cent over the same period.

Asset-weighted fees declined from 0.54 per cent to 0.49 per cent in the year amid the continued growth of low-cost passive providers.

“Price continues to be a driver of growth for model portfolios,” said NextWealth founder and CEO, Heather Hopkins.

“Firms with an average total cost below 50bps grew assets by an average of 30 per cent in the past year compared to 20 per cent for those charging more than 50bps.

“That said, price isn’t the only driver. Active portfolios have managed to maintain their market share and their pricing.

“Active portfolios make up more than one third of assets in MPS and the total cost for hybrid and passive portfolios has fallen roughly three times faster than for active in the past two years.

“Price is important but discretionary fund managers continue to differentiate on service and performance, as well as price.”

The majority of MPS providers were found to be focusing on strategic partnerships to embed and grow their market share, with Tatton and Pacific the largest firms offering co-branding.

Of the discretionary fund managers offering tailored models, LGT ranked the largest by assets, more than double the size of the second biggest.

“Partnerships have become a vibrant part of the market representing a viable approach to building relatively secure assets quickly,” Hopkins said.

“In a competitive market, new entrants realise that they need to identify and build key partnerships to gain momentum. Simply offering a broadbrush proposition is a challenging route to success.”

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