Brooks Macdonald saw its funds under management (FUM) recover to £16.2bn during the quarter to 31 December 2022, a 4.5% increase across the three months.
The £702m jump was driven by £156m of net inflows and £546m of positive investment performance.
Brooks’ bespoke portfolio service (BPS) ended the quarter with FUM up 2.6% at £8.9bn on the back of healthy investment performances, which added £297m, partially offset by net outflows of £82m. The managed portfolio service (MPS) delivered a strong 12.4% uptick in FUM, which stood at £3.6bn as of the end of December.
As a result, the firm’s discretionary proposition, which includes its BPS and MPS offerings, grew by 5.3% to £12.2bn in the three months to 31 December.
The firm’s funds division also managed a positive return for the three-month period, but outflows of £41m ensured that FUM in that area nudged up by only 0.1% to hit £1.8bn.
In all, Brooks’ investments performed in line with its benchmark, the MSCI Pimfa Private Investor Balanced Index, returning 3.5% across the quarter. However, from 1 July to 31 December, the firm’s investments exceeded the index, returning 1.5% against the benchmark’s -0.3%.
Though FUM growth was encouraging, the firm has some way to go before returning to the £17.3bn it had on its books at the end of 2021.
CEO Andrew Shepherd (pictured) said: “I am pleased to report that we have delivered circa £350m of positive net flows so far this financial year, demonstrating the continuing demand from our clients and intermediaries for high quality investment management, despite the challenging macroeconomic environment and difficult market conditions.
“It has been a solid half year for the group, with positive organic growth and two acquisitions completed in the period, underlining our continued progress towards our strategic ambitions. We remain in a strong position to take advantage of the great opportunities ahead for Brooks Macdonald.”
