2026 is the year of Managed Portfolio Services (MPS), with nine in ten (91%) financial advisers and IFAs currently using MPS for their clients, according to new research from Charles Stanley, part of Raymond James Wealth Management.
Of those who currently use an MPS provider, just 9% use one, while 46% currently use two to support their work with clients. 45% use three or more, offering a broader service selection to clients and their portfolios.
The usage of MPS is also expected to grow. A majority of advisers (90%) expect to use or rely on MPS more over the next 12 months, with 41% saying they expect to use it a lot more and 49% only marginally more.
Current MPS users also say they are looking to increase the number of MPS providers they currently use (68%), meaning that MPS providers therefore have considerable opportunity to help serve advisers as they look to scale their business offerings and provide flexible solutions for clients.
How MPS has helped advisers in their day-to-day job
MPS has helped financial advisers and IFAs in numerous ways. Providing performance comparisons when it comes to the likes of investments and portfolios (34%) has helped advisers the most, followed by MPS helping advisers in offering more scalability for different client sizes (32%). The same number (32%) also said that using MPS has meant they can have a greater focus on offering quality advice and service to clients, while a further 32% said it provides cost efficiency when it comes to reviewing the market and investment options.
Other support advisers have found from using an MPS include the ability to access more specialist knowledge and broader research sources, more support in business growth without the overheads, improved reporting, and time efficiency. With additional time saved, this enables advisers to focus on their relationships with clients.
MPS usage
Just 9% of financial advisers do not currently use an MPS. That said, financial advisers are open to using the service in the future.
Critically, of those who use an MPS, confidence in their provider is unanimous. 64% are very confident in their providers’ ability and 35% are somewhat confident.
Paul Measures, Head of Sales at Charles Stanley, part of Raymond James Wealth Management, comments: “Model Portfolio Services have had a formidable growth trajectory in recent years as they offer significant benefits and value to advisers. As advisers also look to scale efficiently under Consumer Duty, MPS has become an essential part of their centralised investment and retirement propositions. We fully expect this to grow further, especially when we consider nine in ten advisers currently use the service, and a further nine in ten say they’ll rely on it more over the next 12 months. We are seeing demand from firms wanting flexible, outcome oriented portfolios that free up time to focus on what matters most; building outstanding client relationships and outcomes.”
