In the three months after it was announced Brewin Dolphin is to be acquired by the Jersey-based wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the wealth firm revealed an 8.2% drop in funds under management.
At 30 June 2022, the end of its financial third quarter, Brewin had £51.7bn in FUM down from £56.3bn at the end of March. Over the same time frame, discretionary funds fell 8.5% to £45.2bn.
The decrease was attributed to investment performance losses of £4.7bn, a factor Brewin Dolphin blamed on the “ongoing volatile and weak market performance and macroeconomic environment.”
The MSCI WMA Private Investor Balanced Index dropped 7.4% during the quarter.
However, the acquisition of Brewin Dolphin appears to be on track, with completion expected in September, subject to regulatory approvals.
Robin Beer (pictured), chief executive at Brewin Dolphin, said: “While the recent market weakness has impacted our results in the third quarter, I am pleased that year to date we have achieved £2.5bn of gross discretionary inflows. The strength of our gross inflows demonstrates continuing demand for advice and our ability to capture new clients, especially during market uncertainty.”
See also: Brewin Dolphin rakes in £1bn inflows as RBC takeover looms
Tough quarter but better than a year ago for AJ Bell
Meanwhile, AJ Bell’s assets under advice (AUA) closed down 5% at £63.5bn in its own Q3 update. This was not as bad as the FTSE All-Share, which fell 6% during the period, while the MSCI World Index fell 9%.
Net inflows of £1.6bn were recorded during the quarter compared to £2.1bn in the same three-month period a year prior.
Though down in the quarter, AJ Bell’s assets are overall up on an annual basis.
Assets in its investment platform closed at £2.5bn, up 25% over the last year and up 9% in the quarter, while net inflows in the quarter were £271m.
However, outside of this, it racked up £1.7bn of net outflows, as a result of the closure of AJ Bell’s institutional stockbroking business.
“Overall, our business continues to perform well and our long-term growth prospects remain strong,” said AJ Bell CEO Andy Bell. “The continued development of our customer propositions, together with our highly competitive pricing and strong customer service, means we are well positioned to continue growing the business and increasing our market share.”
Last month, Bell announced he would be stepping down from the role of CEO in October.
See also: Blackrock AUM slump signals bumpy road ahead for investment industry
