Titan Square Mile’s quarterly Market Intelligence Report published today reveals that inflation did not register as a concern for advisers researching investment options for their clients over the last quarter.
Inflation protection accounted for fewer than one percent of searches conducted by users of the Titan Square Mile Academy of Funds in Q3, down from 5.6% in Q2, despite concerns over persistent levels of inflation in the UK economy.
Interest in capital accumulation and income strategies remained broadly level at 42.9% and 35.7% respectively (42.6% and 37.0% in Q2). However, research into funds with the potential of preserving capital saw the largest shift in adviser viewing patterns. They accounted for over one in five searches (21.4%) in Q3 an increase of 6.6 percentage points on the previous quarter, suggesting that advisers are seeking to protect client portfolios from a potential market correction.
Titan Square Mile’s quarterly Market Intelligence Report provides a detailed account of viewing patterns among financial advisers using the Academy of Funds, a depository of insight and opinion on all 399 active, passive and risk targeted funds and investment trusts* rated by the company’s team of analysts. In the third quarter of 2025, the Academy received 22,230 visits creating a strong indication of fund selector sentiment towards investment outcomes, funds, fund groups and asset classes.
The IA Global sector accounted for the most searches during Q3 at 19%, twice that of the second most popular, IA Sterling Strategic Bond at 10%, with IA UK All Companies coming third at 8.7%. However, the top five most researched funds covered a spectrum of sectors, including UK smaller companies and Japanese equities. These were represented the by WS Amati UK Listed Smaller Companies and Baillie Gifford Japanese funds in second and third places respectively with the WS Havelock Global Select fund being the most viewed. Despite subdued interest in sustainable investments, the fourth most researched strategy overall was the Wellington Global Impact Bond fund.
There was a major reordering of adviser interest among funds with responsible mandates below the Wellington Global Impact Bond fund which maintained its position as the most popular. The Edentree Short Dated Bond fund rose from fifth to second place with a 3.9% share of views, while the FSSA Asia Focus fund shot up from 18th place in Q2 to share third place with the Royal London Sustainable World Trust in Q3.
The MI Report also highlighted a notable change in leadership among fund groups offering risk targeted solutions. Rathbones and Liontrust maintained their positions in second and third places respectively, however, Legal & General Investment Management registered a 12.4 percentage point increase in their share of views to 22.9%, lifting the firm from fifth place in Q2 to pole position over the last quarter.
The Legal & General Multi Index 5 portfolio was the most viewed risk targeted proposition overall, accounting for 10.8% of all views – a significant increase of 9.1 percentage points on the previous quarter. This put the strategy comfortably ahead of Aviva Investors Multi-Asset Core 1 and CT Universal MAP Balanced which were in second and third place with 6.5% and 5.4% respectively.
John Lester, senior business development director, Titan Wealth, commented:
“The IMF has warned that the UK faces the highest levels of inflation among its G7 peer group over the remainder of 2025 and into the new year. However, our latest Market Intelligence Report paints a different picture of what might be front of mind among advisers analysing investment strategies via the Titan Square Mile Academy of Funds. The fact that research into inflation protection as an investment outcome in Q3 was negligible while capital preservation registered a marked increase suggests a shift towards greater caution as alarm bells continue to ring over a potential market correction driven by a sell-off in AI related companies.
“However, with capital accumulation strategies continuing to dominate adviser research, adviser outlook appears to remain relatively sanguine overall, despite an uptick in interest in protecting capital. We would always advocate diversification across asset classes and investment styles supported by robust fund research as a sound strategy to protect portfolios against an uncertain market backdrop. All funds that hold a Titan Square Mile rating have undergone rigorous assessments conducted by our market leading team of analysts, giving advisers confidence that they have the strongest potential of delivering on their stated objectives over the long-term.”
