Brewin Dolphin’s total funds under management increased by 19.5% in the year to the end of September, thanks to strong net flows and investment performance.
The wealth manager’s annual results published on Wednesday revealed total funds at £56.9bn at the end of September, up from £47.6bn the year before.
This figure was bolstered by £2.1bn of net flows across the business and £7.1bn of investment performance. Investment performance during the year was 14.9% compared with the MSCI Pimfa Private Investor Balanced Index’s 13.6%.
Total discretionary funds grew by 20.9% to £49.8bn, with net flows of £1.9bn, compared with £900m the year before. It reported record gross discretionary inflows of £4bn.
Direct discretionary net flows were £500m, driven by record gross inflows of £1.9bn and outflows of £900m.
Indirect discretionary net flows, meanwhile, were up 75% from the year before at £1.4bn. Flows of £1bn into Brewin Dolphin’s MPS and Voyager ranges were a significant driver to this growth, it said.
Brewin takes £4m hit after cancelling move to new HQ
The firm’s statutory profit before tax was 16.7% higher at £72.5m. Its adjusted items for the year were also higher at £18.4m, compared with £16.1m in 2020. These included acquisition costs of £1.5m, aborted acquisition costs, onerous contracts of £3.6m, with the majority relating to the decision to not move its London office to 25 Cannon Street and to assign or sublet the space instead once the lease commences.
In its full year results report dated 27 November 2019, Brewin Dolphin announced a plan to move its head office in 2022 to 25 Cannon Street. It canned this plan last month, however, after concluding its current office in Smithfield has the capacity to fulfil its current needs and future growth.
Brewin Dolphin chief executive Robin Beer (pictured) said: “We have had an exceptional year achieving record discretionary inflows and are delivering on our growth ambitions. None of this would have been possible without our people, who have adapted so effectively to remote working and continue to focus on putting our clients at the centre of all their decision making.”
