How Wealth Advisers and Platforms Can Use Targeted Support to Increase AUM

Targeted Support as a Growth Strategy

Most firms are approaching the targeted support regime as a compliance project. They are asking: “How do we meet the minimum requirements of COBS 9B without excessive cost?” This is understandable but short-sighted.

Firms that think more strategically will recognise that targeted support — done well — is one of the most powerful tools available for growing assets under management, reducing client attrition, and differentiating from competitors. The regulatory requirement to deliver better outcomes aligns directly with the commercial imperative to deliver better service.

The Commercial Logic

The connection between targeted support and AUM growth operates through four mechanisms:

1. Reduced Attrition Through Better Engagement

Consumers who receive relevant, timely support are less likely to leave. The targeted support regime requires firms to proactively engage consumers with suggestions tailored to their segment — exactly the kind of engagement that builds loyalty and reduces switching.

Our cross-provider data shows that transfer intent varies significantly across consumer segments. Consumers who feel underserved or ignored by their current provider show transfer intent rates of 25–30%, compared to 8–12% for consumers who feel actively supported. Targeted support directly addresses the engagement gap that drives attrition.

2. Consolidation Opportunity

Cross-provider data reveals that the average UK consumer holds financial products across 2.4 providers. Targeted support creates a natural opportunity to encourage consolidation by demonstrating to consumers that their outcomes would improve by bringing more assets onto your platform.

For example, a consumer in your “active drawdown planner” segment who holds ISAs with another provider could receive a targeted suggestion showing how consolidating their tax wrappers could simplify their drawdown strategy and reduce fees. This is good for the consumer (better outcomes) and good for the firm (increased AUM).

3. Advice Conversion

Targeted support is designed for consumers who do not currently take personal advice. However, well-designed targeted support can serve as a pathway to advice by:

• Identifying consumers whose circumstances are too complex for ready-made suggestions
• Demonstrating the value of personalised financial planning through the quality of targeted support
• Building trust and engagement that makes consumers more receptive to an advice relationship

Our data suggests that consumers who engage actively with financial modelling tools — the behavioural proxy for “interested but not yet advised” — represent a significant conversion opportunity. These consumers are already thinking about their finances; they need a nudge, not a cold call.

4. Competitive Differentiation

In a market where every firm must deliver targeted support, the quality of that support becomes a competitive differentiator. Firms that build their segments on genuine behavioural evidence will deliver more relevant suggestions, produce better outcomes, and build stronger reputations than firms that treat targeted support as a box-ticking exercise.

This matters for institutional distribution as much as retail. Workplace pension providers competing for employer scheme mandates will increasingly be evaluated on the quality of their member support — including targeted support. A provider that can demonstrate evidence-based segmentation and measurable better outcomes has a compelling story for scheme trustees and consultants.

Practical Implementation for AUM Growth

For Wealth Advisers

• Segment your non-advised book: Use cross-provider behavioural data to identify which non-advised clients are most likely to benefit from (and respond to) targeted support
• Design consolidation pathways: Build targeted suggestions that naturally lead to asset consolidation, supported by evidence that consolidation improves outcomes
• Create advice escalation triggers: Set behavioural thresholds within segments that identify when a consumer’s needs have become too complex for targeted support, triggering a proactive advice offer
• Track segment-level AUM: Monitor AUM changes within each targeted support segment to measure the commercial impact of your approach

For Platforms

• Personalise the platform experience: Use segment-level insights to tailor the platform interface, content, and prompts for each consumer group
• Build retention dashboards: Monitor transfer intent within each segment using external benchmarks, and intervene proactively when intent rises
• Develop segment-specific propositions: Create product bundles or fee structures tailored to the needs of your highest-value segments
• Measure net flows by segment: Track whether targeted support is driving positive net flows in each segment, and adjust suggestions accordingly

The Evidence Advantage

The firms that will capture the most value from targeted support are those that invest in the evidence base. Using cross-provider behavioural data to build segments means your targeted support is genuinely relevant — which drives engagement, reduces attrition, and creates natural pathways to asset consolidation and advice conversion.

Compliance and commercial success are not competing objectives under PS25/22. They are the same objective, approached from different angles. The firm that builds the best segments will both satisfy the FCA and grow its business.