At this year's FundForum in Monaco, Elston Consulting's Portfolio Strategist, Andrea Acimovic, joined panellists from TrinityBridge, Evelyn Partners and Morningstar to discuss one of the defining trends in asset management: the extraordinary growth of ETFs and the structural challenges emerging alongside it.
Elston Consulting marks a major milestone with total related assets exceeding £3bn (as of end May 2026) for the first time. This growth highlights a significant structural shift in the UK advisory market, as 71% of Elston’s £2.2bn MPS-related assets are now held with co-manufactured custom or tailored portfolios rather than standard off-the-shelf portfolios.
At the end of May 2026, there were over £3.0bn of assets invested across strategies designed by Elston Consulting, made up of £2.2bn in MPS managed by Elston Portfolio Management, and £800m in funds using Elston’s research and/or indices. 
The UK Government is continuing its push to encourage greater participation in long-term investing, with ISA reform forming part of a broader agenda that includes the Mansion House Accords and initiatives designed to improve engagement with investing like the £50m "Savvy Squirrel" advertising campaign. The stated policy objective is clear: to encourage retail investment and support better long-term returns for savers by directing more capital towards productive assets rather than cash savings.
 Andrea Acimovic, portfolio strategist at Elston, was a panellist at FundForum 2026 - the world’s largest investment fund conference. In her panel discussion she explored the key drivers and obstacles to ETF adoption in the UK retail market.
Read more here.
Elston Consulting has officially crossed a major milestone, with total related assets reaching £3.0bn as of late spring 2026. This growth highlights a significant structural shift in the UK advisory market, as 71% of Elston’s £2.2bn MPS assets are now held within co-manufactured custom portfolios rather than standard off-the-shelf options. Read the full breakdown of our portfolio and fund metrics, alongside a statement from our founder on our continued transition toward an implemented consulting model.
Henry Cobbe CFA, Head of Research at Elston Consulting discusses why and how retail investors are being attracted to the SpaceX IPO and what the key considerations are
Henry Cobbe CFA, Head of Research at Elston Consulting outlines whether and how index providers, fund managers and portfolio managers are preparing for the the SpaceX IPO
Just as major supermarkets achieve better consumer value by manufacturing their own white-label goods, discretionary managers can utilize proprietary fund structures to lower institutional costs and improve execution agility. However, smaller arrangements lacking scale risk running afoul of regulatory standards on product governance and distributor-influenced rules.
Elston: related AUM figures
As at end April 2026, there is a total of £2.9bn of assets is invested across strategies designed by Elston Consulting, of which: £2.1bn in Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) managed by Elston Portfolio Management £0.8bn in Funds using Elston's Research and/or Indices MPS Asset breakdown Of the £2.1bn MPS assets: 72% is in co-manufactured custom portfolios 28% is in ready-made off-the-shelf portfolios Fund Asset breakdown Of the £0.8bn in Fund assets: 67% is in active asset allocation funds using Elston Research 33% is in systematic investment strategies using Elston Indices Henry Cobbe, Founder and Managing Director of Elston Consulting commented: "We continue to see structural growth in the MPS market, particularly in the Custom MPS space which we helped pioneer in 2018." About Elston Elston Consulting is an investment consulting firm established in 2012 supporting UK Financial Advisers. Elston Consulting provides research, analytics and insights to investment managers and financial advisers. Our powerful risk analytics system - Minerva™ - helps quantify different aspects of risk and informs how investment strategies are managed and reported. Elston Consulting consults on approximately £6bn of assets with professional clients including 1) discretionary investment managers providing a Managed Portfolio Service (MPS 2) financial advisers providing their own Advisory Portfolio Service (APS) 3) asset managers managing Collective Investment Schemes (Funds) Elston has a comprehensive set of capabilities to research, design and develop custom multi-asset investment solutions, delivered as Portfolios, Funds and Indices. 
Rather than fearing the regulator's focus on co-manufacturing arrangements, forward-thinking advisory firms can look at structured agreements as a way to safeguard their unique investment propositions. Done correctly through open-architecture frameworks, custom mandates ensure that advisors dictate strategy while retaining the power to change out providers.
Elston: related AUM figures
As at end March 2026, there is a total of £2.7bn of assets is invested across strategies designed by Elston Consulting, of which: £2.0bn in Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) managed by Elston Portfolio Management £0.7bn in Funds using Elston's Research and/or Indices MPS Asset breakdown Of the £2.0bn MPS assets: 72% is in co-manufactured custom portfolios 28% is in ready-made off-the-shelf portfolios Fund Asset breakdown Of the £0.7bn in Fund assets: 66% is in active asset allocation funds using Elston Research 34% is in systematic investment strategies using Elston Indices About Elston Elston Consulting is an investment consulting firm established in 2012 supporting UK Financial Advisers. Elston Consulting provides research, analytics and insights to investment managers and financial advisers. Our powerful risk analytics system - Minerva™ - helps quantify different aspects of risk and informs how investment strategies are managed and reported. Elston Consulting consults on approximately £6bn of assets with professional clients including 1) discretionary investment managers providing a Managed Portfolio Service (MPS 2) financial advisers providing their own Advisory Portfolio Service (APS) 3) asset managers managing Collective Investment Schemes (Funds) Elston has a comprehensive set of capabilities to research, design and develop custom multi-asset investment solutions, delivered as Portfolios, Funds and Indices. 
What is co-manufacturing, what are custom or tailored model portfolio and what are the risks and benefits?
Elston: related AUM figures
As at end December 2025, there is a total of £2.6bn of assets is invested across strategies designed by Elston Consulting, of which: £2.0bn in Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) managed by Elston Portfolio Management £0.6bn in Funds using Elston's Research and/or Indices MPS Asset breakdown Of the £2.0bn MPS assets: 73% is in co-manufactured custom portfolios 27% is in ready-made off-the-shelf portfolios Fund Asset breakdown Of the £0.6bn in Fund assets: 64% is in active asset allocation funds using Elston Research 36% is in systematic investment strategies using Elston Indices About Elston Elston Consulting is an investment consulting firm established in 2012 supporting UK Financial Advisers. Elston Consulting provides research, analytics and insights to investment managers and financial advisers. Our powerful risk analytics system - Minerva™ - helps quantify different aspects of risk and informs how investment strategies are managed and reported. Elston Consulting consults on approximately £6bn of assets with professional clients including 1) discretionary investment managers providing a Managed Portfolio Service (MPS 2) financial advisers providing their own Advisory Portfolio Service (APS) 3) asset managers managing Collective Investment Schemes (Funds) Elston has a comprehensive set of capabilities to research, design and develop custom multi-asset investment solutions, delivered as Portfolios, Funds and Indices. 
A multi asset fund is a single fund which includes within it a ready-made portfolio of funds from two or more of the 4 key asset classes: Equities, Bonds, Alternatives and Cash.
One way to imagine them is a Burrito with a little bit of everything: meat, veg and sauce (a diversified meal), wrapped up in a tortilla (a single fund wrapper) for convenience and ease of transportation! 
In our suggestions to the FCA for the MPS review published this summer, we called for greater standardisation of rules between Multi-Asset Funds (MAFs) and Managed Portfolio Services (MPS). While the two formats differ in delivery, legal format, and tax treatment, they are similar in scope and function. Funds require: KIID, factsheets, benchmarks, and standardised performance reporting. MPS, by contrast, have no such requirements. This makes comparison difficult and transparency challenging.
So we very much welcome the FCA’s proposals in DP25/3 to align MAF and MPS disclosure and reporting standards. Greater alignment would help advisers and therefore their clients in three critical areas: consistency, comparability, and transparency.  Our founder Henry Cobbe was invited to speak to the key clients of Jupiter Asset Management on the future of multi-asset and MPS investing at their event at the National History Museum.
Full article to follow. 
What a budget. Our initial reaction is that the process leading up to it has been nothing short of shambolic. Endless leaks, speculation, and U-turns have exhausted everyone. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned purdah? Instead, we’ve had a free-for-all of briefings, capped off by a leak on the morning of the announcement - an extraordinary embarrassment that moved bond markets and undermined confidence in the OBR.
 We were honoured to see Elston Portfolio Management recognised with a 5 star award for Best Discretionary Fund Manager at the FT Adviser Service Awards 2025!
A huge thank you to all the advisers who voted! DFM services provided by Elston Portfolio Management using research, analytics and insights from Elston Consulting. Read the intereview with Henry Cobbe  Elston Consulting has designed the Elston Smoothed MPS solution that has been manufactured by Elston Portfolio Management for UK advisers.
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