Over half (51%) of financial advisers saw a considerable increase in the number of gilt-related queries from clients in 2023 compared to 2022.
This is according to research from AJ Bell, which also found that 23% of advisers were more likely to use gilts directly in 2024.
During 2023, two of the top 10 investments on the AJ Bell Investcentre platform were gilts.
Additionally, 2023 saw an 150% increase in gilt assets under administration compared to 2022.
In February 2024, AJ Bell launched an online gilt-trading service for advisers on its Investcentre platform “making it easier for advisers to facilitate this increased demand from clients”.
Still, 41% did not see an increase in gilt-related queries from clients and 7% stated the number of queries remained the same.
At the time of writing, the UK 10-year gilt yield stands at just over 4%, with the two-year gilt yield at around 4.6%.
AJ Bell Investcentre product director Mark Rendle said: “In the past year, we have seen a substantial increase in gilt holdings on the platform, which shows how quickly advisers are adapting to meet the needs of customers as the economic environment changes.
“The fact over half of advisers saw an increase in the number of gilt-related queries in 2023, with a quarter stating that they were more likely to use gilts going forward, shows this trend isn’t going anywhere soon.
“Making gilt dealing available online to advisers should improve ease of access to this important asset class at a time when advisers expect gilt usage to increase.”
In February 2024, AJ Bell launched Tech Zone, a new technical hub for financial advisers designed to support them with impending pension tax changes when the lifetime allowance (LTA) is abolished in April.
Tech Zone addresses all of the latest regulatory and legislative updates as a result of the LTA abolishment.
To obtain these results, AJ Bell spoke to 243 advisers who use its Investcentre platform between January 4-19 2024.
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