Cash is taking on a more prominent role in high net worth portfolios, with advisors reporting a clear shift in clients' attitudes to cash within their overall finances, according to new research from Flagstone and Censuswide.

The liquidity and presumed safety of cash is an increasing attraction for high net worth individuals in the UK, a survey has found.

New research commissioned in 2025 by Flagstone, a London fintech company, and UK-based research consultancy Censuswide, shows that 38 per cent of HNW individuals hold more cash than they did three years ago, with cash accounting for an average of 19 per cent of their total wealth. 

The survey covered 100 financial advisors and wealth managers, 100 HNW individuals, defined for the purposes of this research as individuals with over £100,000 ($133, 000) in investable assets, and 100 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The research shows that many HNW individuals are choosing cash as a destination in its own right. Forty-two per cent of them prefer to hold cash while waiting for the right investment opportunities, instead of committing capital to underperforming or unnecessarily risky assets, the firm said.

When deciding where to hold cash, 76 per cent of HNW people said maximising interest rates is their top priority, highlighting the expectation that cash should deliver competitive returns rather than sit idle. The result is that cash is commanding a greater share of advisor-client conversations as a deliberate component of wealth planning, the firm continued.

“Cash is being used far more deliberately than it was even just a few years ago,” John Martin, chief product officer at Flagstone, said. “It’s no longer seen as a temporary holding while investors wait on the sidelines, and advisors are increasingly turning their attention to dynamic, deliberate and high-performance options for their clients' cash allocations.”

“Cash has been elevated in HNWIs’ eyes as a credible alternative to investing when the risk-reward trade-off elsewhere isn’t compelling,” Martin continued. “If clients want risk mitigation, capital protection and a guaranteed return, choosing cash is often the most rational decision.”

SMEs
A similar shift is underway among UK small and mid-sized businesses, with cash playing an increasingly central role in SMEs' risk management, resilience and future growth, the firm said. Forty-one per cent of SMEs said their cash reserves have increased over the past three years, with businesses now holding an average of nine months’ working capital in cash. Looking ahead, this approach shows little sign of reversing, with 34 per cent of SMEs expecting to increase their cash reserves in 2026.

“SMEs are holding cash to preserve flexibility, so they can manage costs, withstand disruption and still act decisively when opportunities emerge,” Martin added.

Flagstone, which has assets under administration of almost £19 billion ($25 billion), partners with a number of UK wealth managers, including St James’s Place, and powers a broad range of savings products for financial services providers.