Four out of five of financial advisors polled at a recent Schroders conference think there will be fewer IFA-centric platforms in the UK in five years than the current 20.

Of the 140 advisors in the survey, 61 per cent believe there will be fewer than 13 IFA platform providers in 2016, while one out five think the number will be closer to 17.

Just 3 per cent of respondents said there will be significantly more platforms in 2016.

“I’m not at all surprised our conference delegates believe the number of platforms will significantly diminish,” said Robin Stoakley, managing director, UK intermediary at Schroders. “Only the most efficient and the best capitalised are likely to remain.”

Four out of five also said they believe that platform charges will be lower or significantly lower. Only 7 per cent believe fees will be higher than now.

“We certainly agree that in the new RDR environment, platform charges will decrease and I think 30 per cent is a realistic figure,” Stoakley said.